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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


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iff. 


ACROSS  THE  CONTINENT 


AND  BACK  AGAIN. 


BY 

REV.  J.  H.  POTTER,   . 

KTST'S,  FLA. 


CINCINNATI,  O.: 
Klin  Street  Printing  Co.,  Nos.  17(1  and  17H  Klin  St. 

l.v.t::. 


TO   THE    READER. 

The  publication  of  these  letters  in  The  Presbyterian 
Banner  was  at  the  earnest  request  of  friends.  It  has  been 
gratifying  to  learn  from  many  sources  that  they  have  been 
read  with  interest;  and  they  now  appear  in  this  form  at 
the  solicitation  of  those  who  wish  them  preserved  in  more 
permanent  form.  They  grew  from  items  picked  up,  and 

thoughts  suggested,  while  on  the  wing. 

J.  H.   P. 


801833 


ACROSS  THE  CONTINENT  AND  BACK  AGAIN. 


BY    REV.  J.   H.   POTTER,   OF    EUS I  IS,   FI.A. 


A  trip  of  over  nine  thousand  miles,  across  the  Western 
continent  from  southeast  to  northwest  and  back  again,  was 
to  me  one  of  pleasure,  and  has  left  pictures  of  joy  in  the 
gallery  of  memory.  I  shall  be  pleased  to  have  my  friends 
share  the  enjoyment  with  me. 

I  left  Eustis,  Florida,  160  miles  south  of  Jacksonville,  on 
the  29th  of  April,  1892,  and  traveled  via  Jacksonville  and 
Tallahassee,  taking  in  North  Florida,  which  is  so  greatly 
different  from  South  Florida  as  to  be  of  much  interest  to  one 
from  the  land  of  oranges  coming  to  this  country  of  grain 
and  farm  land,  deciduous  trees,  and  slow-going  people. 

NEW  ORLEANS. 

Through  Mobile  and  Pensacola  we  came  on  to  New  Or- 
leans. The  old  portion  of  that  city  presents  nothing  very 
attractive  except  to  those  that  enjoy  studying  the  past  in  the 


records  it  has  left  in  the  narrow  streets  and  antique  architec- 
ture of  the  old  French  quarters.  I  was  pleased  in  visiting 
the  new  part  of  this  old  city.  Long  avenues,  lined  on  both 
sides  with  stately  magnolias  clad  in  their  royal  robes  of 
beauty,  decorated  as  they  then  were  with  such  flowers  as 
none  but  the  magnolia  produce,  gave  the  streets  an  attractive 
appearance.  The  lawns  and  the  roses  in  wondrous  profusion 
added  greatly  to  the  scene,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  avenue 
were  two  rows  of  beauteous  trees,  the  space  between  being 
covered  with  a  green  sward,  on  which  the  street  railway  track 
was  laid,  over  which  our  cars  ran  free  from  dust.  The  city, 
taken  as  a  whole,  is  perhaps  not  growing,  but -many  are  re- 
moving from  the  older  to  the  newer  portion  of  the  city.  The 
city  lies  below  the  level  of  the  great  river  on  whose  banks  it 
is  located.  It  is  called  the  Crescent  City,  as  is  well  known, 
from  the  fact  of  the  river  flowing  like  a  crescent  in  great 
pan  around  it  till  on  the  west  it  flows  from*  south  to  north. 
The  "  Father  of  Waters"  holds  his  rod  in  his  hand,  and  oft- 
times  keeps  his  children  living  on  his  banks  in  dread.  Cease- 
less vigilance  is  the  price  of  safety.  It  is  a  high-water  tax 
they  are  obliged  to  pay  continually.  All  property  is  subject 
to  this  necessary  rent.  It  never  can  be  paid  off  so  as  to  own 
the  property  in  fee  simple.  Every  great  rise  in  the  river  de- 
mands attention.  As  we  left  the  city  we  saw  water-lines  on 
many  tenements,  some^kc  or  seven  feet  from  the  ground, 
where  the  last  high- water  had  marked  its  domain. 


From  this  city  we  took  the  through  train  for  California, 
and  glided  pleasantly  on  in  a  Pullman  car  by  sugar-cane  plan- 
tations in  Louisiana. 

TEXAS. 

We  woke  up  in  Texas  to  be  greeted  by  the  far-reaching 
prairies,  beautifully  green  with  pastures  for  Texas  ponies  and 
cattle.  Clumps  of  timber  here  and  there  break  the  monotony 
of  the  picture.  We  now  approach  Houston,  whose  aspiring 
steeples  and  massive  towers  proclaim  it  a  city  of  taste  and 
enterprise.  It  brings  up  memories  of  the  long  ago  when 
Sam  Houston  figured  in  the  early  history  of  the  State.  I  can 
readily  believe  Rev.  Daniel  Baker's  account  of  his  weary 
wanderings  in  his  own  track  on  these  seemingly  boundless 
prairies.  The  world  does  move.  Texas  has  made  amazing  pro- 
gress since  it  was  redeemed  from  Mexican  thraldom,  and  "our 
boys"  went  with  musket  in  hand  to  establish  our  claim  to  this 
beautiful  land.  It  did  seem  as  though  "  might  made  right," 
and  we  possessed  Texas,  and  California  was  taken  to  pay 
the  expenses  of  the  war.  Then  followed  '49  and  the  golden 
era,  and  the  star  of  empire  moved  west.  In  all  these  move- 
ments the  Providence  is  visible  pointing  forward.  As  we 
glided  on  across  the  enchanting  prairies  of  Texas  that  seem 
practically  limitless,  the  cattle  grazing,  ponies  feeding,  sun 
shining,  fleecy  clouds  floating  leisurely  by  as  chariots  of  God, 
with  good  angels  lingering  to  take  some  message  to  heaven, 


it  was  manifest  that  He  who  spake  in  parables  on  earth  is 
so  speaking  yet,  illustrating  great  truths  of  his  nature  and 
government.  By  and  by  we  pass  through  the  city  of  San 
Antonio,  said  to  contain  some  forty-five  thousand  inhabitants. 
Four  cities  in  Texas  claim  pre-eminence — Houston,  San 
Antonio,  Dallas  and  Galveston.  They  are  said  to  be  of 
about  equal  size.  Surely  Texas  has  vast  possibilities.  In 
extent  it  is  an  empire  equal  to  France.  Its  fertile  soil  and 
genial  climate  make  it  attractive.  I  slept,  and  woke  up  next 
morning  in  Western  Texas,  which  presents  a  very  different 
picture  from  that  of  Eastern  and  Central  Texas.  It  abounds 
in  arid  foot  hills,  rainless  and  barren,  barely  enough  grass  to 
starve  a  few  specimens  of  cattle  that  dared  attempt  to  live 
so  far  away.  Some  timid  antelopes  were  trying  to  feed  their 
scant  bodies  on  the  spare  tufts  of  grass.  Shy  creatures !  I 
do  not  see  how  the  Chicagoans  are  going  to  catch  them  to 
grace  the  World's  Exposition.  I  enjoy  thinking  of  their 
freedom.  Properly  to  prize  the  blessings  of  rain,  one  needs 
to  visit  these  rainless  deserts.  Bless  God  for  seasonable 
showers!  We  are  told  that  in  July  and  August  it  rains  so 
heavily  here  as  to  wash  out  these  gutters  we  see  along  our 
track.  But  these  desolate  plains  are  said  to  be  as  fertile  as 
were  those  in  California,  that  with  irrigation  are  now  bloom- 
ing as  the  garden  of  God  and  laden  with  the  treasures  of 
earth  poured  forth  in  response  to  the  water  of  life  freely  sup- 
plied. So  may  our  waste-places  abound  with  the  fruits  of 
righteousness  when  supplied  with  the  water  of  life  everlasting. 


9  — 


II. 

The  Southern  Pacific  follows  a  valley  mid  these  arid  hills 
in  Western  Texas  that  seems  scooped  out  on  purpose  for 
travel  and  commerce.  Very  few  human  beings  live  on  these 
plains.  At  long  stretches  there  are  desolate  little  groups  of 
adobe  dwellings  with  a  grocery  and  post-office  and  that  other 
great  apparent  neccessary  accompaniment  of  civilization, 
"The  Lone  Star  Saloon."  Satan  permits  no  opportunity  to 
pass  unimproved. 

At  Valentine,  1045  miles  from  New  Orleans,  the  popula- 
tion is  badly  mixed,  Spaniards,  Frenchmen,  Indians,  Chinese, 
Mexicans,  negroes,  and  American  white  men,  all  are  seen 
as  we  pass  by.  The  plains  seem  more  barren  than  those  al- 
ready seen.  Bones  of  animals  lie  bleaching  in  the  sun.  At 
Sierra  Blanca  I  asked  some  Mexicans  a  question  and  they 
replied,  "No  say."  They  were  as  dark  as  many  Africans. 
I  asked  a  lady  there  if  they  grew  anything  in  that  region. 
She  replied,  "Cactus  only."  Our  railroad  describes  most 
decided  lines  of  beauty  as  it  curves  along  between  these 
barren  hills.  The  civil  engineer  must  have  had  an  interesting 
time  trying  to  find  a  line  for  the  track. 

On  a  desolate  spot  on  the  side  of  a  hillock  was  a  small 
adobe  about  8xio  feet,  and  in  front  was  a  washing  hung  out 


10    

to  dry,   near  which  was  a  similar  building    placaided  with 
"  Room  to  Let." 

A  most  careful  company  surely  has  this  railroad  in  charge, 
for  the  track  is  fenced  in  for  hundreds  of  miles  where  no  quad- 
ruped large  enough  to  be  in  the  way  of  a  train  can  exist. 
This  is  an  example  to  other  companies  in  lands  where  cattle 
live  and  roam.  Here  is  an  unbroken  wire  fence  of  630  miles 
on  both  sides  of  the  track  from  Sin  Antonio  to  El  Paso.  When 
shall  these  deserts  bloom?  They  were  not  made  in  vain. 
Before  one  hundred  years  have  passed  our  population  will 
crowd  out  here  and  some  means  of  irrigation  will  be  found, 
and  these  plains  will  furnish  homes  for  American  citizens. 
Fine  opportunity  is  here  opened  to  develop  ingenuity  and  en- 
terprise. Let  young  America  try  its  head  and  hand  and  gain 
fame  in  blessing  our  country  by  extending  the  bounds  of  hu- 
man habitation.  Here  is  a  village  built  of  adobe  dwellings. 
Fort  Hancock  is  near  by.  Artists  may  here  find  something 
new  with  which  to  embellish  an  illustrated  magazine.  We 
are  coming  into  a  hotter  clime  and  here  houses  have  double 
roofs,  the  upper  some  twenty  inches  above  the  under  to  keep 
off  the  heat  of  the  noonday  sun.  As  we  neared  El  Paso  we 
gazed  across  the  Rio  Grande  into  the  Republic  of  Mexico. 
On  our  side  the  river  we  found  irrigation  and  luxuriant  growth 
of  wheat,  alfalfa,  peach  trees,  etc.  El  Paso  is  a  typical  city 
of  some  ten  thousand  inhabitants,  I  was  told.  It  has  a  fine 
court-house,  some  good  hotels,  but  there  are  many  low,  flat- 


roofed,  one-storied  buildings  and  many  adobes  on  the  out- 
skirts; good  residences  in  the  heart  of  the  city. 

About  two  miles  west  of  El  Paso  we  crossed  the  Rio 
Grande  and  were  in  New  Mexico,  which  is  desert  indeed  in 
that  part.  Drifting  sands  are  a  prominent  feature,  with  sparse, 
stunted  vegetation.  Mountains  appear  in  the  distance.  We 
turn  our  watches  back  two  hours  to  keep  company  with  the 
sun,  which  we  have  so  far  outrun.  Here  we  met  more  Mex- 
icans than  any  other  nationality.  This  part  of  New  Mexico 
is  not  very  inviting — mountainous,  sandy,  arid.  But  we  are 
told  the  soil  is  very  fertile  and,  when  irrigated,  produces  in 
abundance.  Arizona  presents  the  same  general  appearance 
as  New  Mexico,  with  like  capacity  for  productiveness  if  irri- 
gated. Surely,  the  water  of  life  would  be  a  benediction  here. 
Traveling  in  this  region  becomes  monotonous.  Mountains 
and  arid  plains  with  cactus  in  stately  loneliness,  and  small 
bunches  of  guyetta  grass.  I  feel  deep  sympathy  for  those 
who  traveled  over  these  plains  before  the  days  of  railroads. 
It  is  good  for  us  that  somebody  lived  and  traveled  and 
wrought  before  us.  As  we  travel  in  Pullman  palace  cars, 
how  little  we  know  of  the  toil  and  weariness  of  those  who 
came  on  horseback  or  drove  teams.  Good  men  and  women, 
too,  many  of  them  were. 

At  Yuma,  we  find  numerous  Indians  with  faces  painted 
and  striped,  and  squaws  arrayed  in  gorgeous  robes.  The  men 
wear  long  hair,  but  no  hats,  in  the  hot  sun.  They  have  bows 


and  arrows,  and  apples  and  oranges  for  sale.  Yuma  is  a 
place  of  fifteen  hundred  people.  The  State  prison  is  located 
here  on  the  Colorado  river,  a  strong,  muddy  stream,  which 
we  crossed  into  California.  The  same  desolate  appearance  is 
presented  still.  Soon  we  pass  through  a  valley,  in  some 
places  263  feet  below  sea  level.  In  one  locality  pure,  white 
salt  lies  like  sand  on  the  seashore.  The  railroad  has  a  switch 
laid  into  it,  and  men  are  putting  it  on  the  cars  for  transporta- 
tion. It  is  evidently  the  bed  of  a  salt  sea.  Some  day  it  may 
be  a  salt  sea  again.  Desolation  reigns  supreme,  and  in  sum- 
mer it  is  said  the  heat  is  intense. 

As  we  travel  on,  mountains  grandly  tower  among  the 
clouds  in  full  view,  and  snow  banks  crown  the  peaks,  the 
first  snow  I  had  seen  for  nine  years.  The  chilly  air  gives  us 
a  cold  greeting  in  this  land  of  the  setting  sun.  I  put  on 
my  overcoat  for  the  first  time  since  leaving  the  sunny  South. 
The  mountains  are  utterly  treeless,  bleak  and  uninviting, 
many  showing  lava  formation.  They  present  a  striking  con- 
trast to  the  Alleghenies  in  their  utter  want  of  vegetation. 

At  Colton  we  stopped  off,  and  visited  Riverside,  Cali- 
fornia. Here  we  found  the  desert  literally  blooming  with 
roses,  and  every  tree  beautiful  to  the  eye,  and  fruits  abound- 
ing in  fine  luxuriance.  Wealth,  ingenuity,  skill  and  taste  are 
here  combined  with  labor  and  patient  perseverance  to  render 
this  place  worthy  of  the  reputation  it  enjoys.  But  more  of 
this  in  a  future  letter.  The  picture  now  stands  out,  we  trust, 
from  the  background,  and  we  stop  to  look  at  it. 


III. 

We  are  told  that  the  land  of  Riverside  was  as  barren  and 
the  scene  as  desolate  as  much  of  th:it  to-day  along  the  line 
of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  in  Western  Texas  and  in 
Southern  California.  Irrigation  and  cultivation  have  changed 
the  face  of  the  country.  Surely  God  put  man  into  the  gar- 
den to  dress  it  and  keep  it.  Though  it  produce  thorns  and 
thistles  it  may  be  made  to  bring  forth  much  that  is  good. 
There  is  promise  of  better  things  to  come.  Beyond  River- 
side lies  Pomona,  in  a  beautiful  valley,  verdant  in  grass, 
shrubbery,  fruit  and  ornamental  trees  and  fields  of  grain. 
Roses  bloom  here  in  wondrous  profusion  and  beauty.  The 
mountains  in  this  region  are  of  great  variety.  Some  stand 
off  in  solemn  grandeur,  wrapped  in  somber  robes  and  wear- 
ing snowy  crowns,  hiding  their  modest  faces  in  veils  of  cloud. 
Others,  not  so  aspiring,  are  content  with  lowly  heights,  rise 
in  gentle  slopes,  and  are  clad  in  garments  of  green  to  their 
summits.  The  vales  between  spread  out  in  smiling  beauty 
where  living  waters  bless  the  land. 

Soon  we  reach  Los  Angeles,  a  city  of  sixty  thousand  in- 
habitants, beautifully  located  on  rolling  ground,  its  streets 
lined  with  good  business  houses  and  residences,  their  yards 
delightfully  decorated  with  a  profusion  of  roses  and  gerani- 


—   14  - 

urns  of  rare  beauty.  Fine  churches  bless  the  city,  at  whose 
altars  minister  faithful  pastors,  among  whom  we  are  glad  to 
number  our  excellent  Brother  Chichester,  greatly  beloved  by 
his  people  and  consecrated  to  the  cause  of  God,  eminently 
blest  in  his  work.  Rev.  Fay  Mills  was  in  the  midst  of 
precious  meetings  in  that  city  when  we  were  there.  Surely 
God  is  with  him.  We  greatly  enjoyed  his  presentation  of  the 
good  old  gospel  in  an  interesting  way. 

We  received  a  royal  welcome  in  this  City  of  the  Angels 
by  dear  friends  of  former  years.  Rev.  Robert  Boag  and  his 
estimable  wife  made  our  stay  there  most  delightful.  They 
live  in  a  house  embowered  in  roses.  Nothing  that  kindness 
could  dictate  or  thoughtfulness  insure  was  left  undone  for  our 
enjoyment.  Sweet  memories  hallow  our  visit  to  that  delight- 
ful city.  Our  friends  took  us  out  to  Alhambra,  a  village  of 
quiet  beauty  joined  to  Passadena,  where  all  thit  money, 
taste,  irrigation,  mountain  scenery,  soil,  agriculture  and  time 
can  do  to  make  a  place  attractive  has  been  done,  and  has 
made  this  locality  worthy  of  its  reputation.  The  view  from 
the  grounds  about  the  Raymond  Hotel  in  Passadena  deserves 
special  mention.  In  Alhambra  we  met  our  good  brother 
Rev.  A.  A.  Dinsmore,  who  ministers  to  our  church  there. 
Here  again  friends  seemed  to  vie  with  each  other  in  acts  of 
kindness  and  hospitality. 

Leaving  Los  Angeles  we  went  to  San  Francisco,  where 
we  met  the  same  sort  of  reception  we  had  in  Los  Angeles, 


and  were  taken  to  see  the  places  of  interest  in  that  mistress 
of  the  Pacific  which  looks  out  through  the  Golden  Gate  to 
the  far  away  Orient  till  the  West  fades  into  the  distant  East. 
We  stood  on  Sutro  Heights  and  looked  out  on  the  Pacific, 
and  thought  of  some  dear  ones  who  had  gone  out  through 
the  Golden  Gate  to  far-away  lands  to  proclaim  the  gospel  of 
our  Lord.  We  thought,  too,  of  Sir  Francis  Drake  sailing  by 
such  a  harbor  as  lay  concealed  beyond  the  narrow  pass.  Be- 
low us  lay  the  sluggish  seals,  barking  and  twisting  their  lazy 
bodies.  Then  we  strolled  through  the  enchanting  walks, 
grottos  and  bowers  of  Sutro  Heights,  mid  evergreens,  statu- 
ary and  curiosities.  The  city  park  we  found  to  be  a  place 
of  wondrous  beauty  and  loveliness,  where  for  many  hours 
one  may  wander  admiring  the  combination  of  nature  and  art. 
In  quiet  nooks  we  escaped  the  chilly  breeze  which,  in  exposed 
places,  detracts  from  the  comfort  of  the  visit.  The  ladies 
wore  their  heavy  wraps  and  furs,  and  gentlemen  their  over- 
coats in  May.  They  told  us  that  ladies  never  wore  light 
dresses  in  San  Francisco,  and  that  in  summer  they  went  off 
elsewhere  to  enjoy  warm  weather — that  indeed  their  win- 
ters were  milder  than  their  summers.  In  Oakland,  immedi- 
ately across  the  bay,  the  temperature  differs  greatly  from 
that  of  San  Francisco.  We  attended  the  First  and  Calvary 
churches  on  Sabbath.  We  were  told  it  was  their  time  for  the 
summer  exodus,  which  accounted  for  the  churches  not  being 
full. 


—  16  — 

We  were  greatly  interested  in  visiting  the  Chinese  Home 
for  Girls.  There  were  forty  girls  in  the  Home  at  the  time. 
They  sang  gospel  hymns,  and  did  wonderfully  well  in  recit- 
ing verses  impromptu.  Few  of  our  sabbath-school  children 
would  equal  them  in  appropriate  selections  in  like  circum- 
stances. A  young  Chinaman,  trained  in  the  seminary  of  San 
Francisco,  married  one  of  these  girls  trained  in  this  Home, 
and  he  is  now  in  charge  of  a  Chinese  church  there.  The 
ladies  have  also  a  "  house-to-house "  female  missionary. 
There  is  another  school  for  Chinese  of  both  sexes  and  various 
ages.  This  mission  is  greatly  in  need  of  a  larger  lot,  a  more 
commodious  building  and  a  more  healthy  location  for  this 
blessed  work.  Surely  it  is  worthy  of  aid  from  good  people 
everywhere.  It  is  a  privilege  to  help  such  a  work,  and  train 
those  who  may  return  to  bless  the  vast  empire  of  China  with 
the  gospel. 


IV. 

f 

San  Francisco  is  a  city  of  hills  and  cable  cars,  busy,  bust- 
ling and  chilly,  but  abounds  in  kind  people.  They  told  us 
their  most  disagreeable  months  were  July  and  August,  when 
the  dust  flies  and  the  fog  dampens  it  into  paste  on  faces  and 
clothing,  when  people  find  it  convenient  to  take  their  vaca- 
tion. 

Taking  the  train  for  San  Jose,  we  passed  through  a  charm- 
ingly rolling  country  clothed  in  verdure.  Fifty  miles  to  the 
south  we  came  to  that  city,  in  Santa  Clara  valley,  one  of 
the  most  lovely  I  have  seen.  The  city  is  one  of  the  oldest 
in  the  State,  having  been  founded  in  1777  by  Spanish 
soldiers  and  their  families.  Including  the  immediate  suburbs, 
it  has  now  some  twenty-eight  thousand  inhabitants.  Forty 
trains  daily  pass  in  and  out.  The  city  is  distinguished  for  its 
many  handsome  private  residences  and  its  costly  and  impos- 
ing public  buildings.  For  its  size  and  importance  i't  is  a  re- 
markably quiet,  pretty  place,  nicely  kept.  It  has  a  charming 
park,  and  shade-trees  everywhere;  flowers  on  every  hand, 
rare  and  luxuriant.  The  kind  pastor  of  one  of  our  churches 
there,  Rev.  J.  W.  Dinsmore,  D. D.,  took  charge  of  us,  and 
one  afternoon  drove  with  us  some  ten  miles  by  orchards  of 
peaches,  pears,  almonds,  cherries,  plums,  apples,  apricots  and 
oranges,  and  vineyards  in  abundance. 


—   i8  — 

On  the  next  forenoon  he  took  us  over  the  opposite  side  of 
the  valley  to  the  canon  in  the  mountain.  The  valley  here  is 
some  seventeen  miles  in  width.  We  drove  perhaps  fifteen 
miles  by  immense  orchards  of  the  varieties  we  saw  the  day 
before,  only  larger  orchards;  one  contained  three  hundred 
acres.  Grain  fields  and  fine  residences  gave  variety  to  the 
picture.  From  the  mountain  side  we  caught  a  glimpse  of  the 
glory  of  this  empire.  Twenty  miles  southeast  of  the  city, 
4443  feet  above  sea  level,  Mt.  Hamilton  proudly  lifts  its 
head.  On  its  lofty  summit  the  Lick  Observatory  is  located, 
containing  the  largest  telescope  in  the  world.  Like  a  faith- 
ful sentinel,  the  observatory  eyes  the  stars  in  their  courses, 
and  has  one  of  the  grandest  outlooks  in  all  the  world — over 
the  Santa  Clara  valley,  the  glinting  waters  of  the  San  Fran- 
cisco Bay,  and  still  beyond  where  heaven  and  earth  and  the 
Pacific  Ocean  blend.  We  called  on  that  grand  old  man 
whose  writings  we  have  so  long  enjoyed,  who  is  known  as 
"Senex  Smith,"  "  Obadiah  Old  School,"  "Rusticus,"  and 
"  C.  E.  B."  We  found  him  genial,  jovial  and  hopeful  in  one 
of  his  orchards.  Virgil  under  the  spreading  beech,  or  sur- 
rounded by  his  herds,  was  never  so  happy  as  he.  In  this 
valley  of  beauty  and  fruitfulness  his  fruits  of  goodness 
abound,  and  many  call  him  blessed. 

In  driving  to  the  mountain,  we  had  a  decided  optical 
illusion.  It  surely  looked  as  though  we  were  driving  on  a 
down  grade  of  at  least  five  degrees,  and  yet  the  horse  was 


stretching  his  tugs  to  draw  our  buggy,  and  a  stream  of  water 
from  the  mountain  was  flowing  in  the  direction  opposite  to 
that  we  were  driving.  The  illusion  was  caused  by  the  sight 
of  the  mountain  we  were  facing.  As  we  returned,  we  de- 
scended from  the  mountain  in  appearance  as  in  reality. 

On  our  return  towards  San  Francisco  we  stopped  off  and 
visited  the  Leland  Stanford  University,  and  were  charmingly 
shown  the  substantial,  extensive  and  conveniently  arranged 
buildings.  The  material  is  sand-stone  in  rustic  dressing. 
The  buildings  are  arranged  in  a  quadrangle  of  Moorish 
architecture,  generally  one  story  in  height,  roofed  with  red 
tiles.  A  continuous  colonnade  connect?  all  the  buildings  of 
the  main  quadrangle  on  the  inner  side,  and  surrounds  a  court 
adorned  with  native  and  exotic  plants.  The  institution  is 
non-sectarian,  but  under  religious  control,  free  to  both  sexes. 
As  is  well  known,  it  is  a  monument  to  the  only  son  of  Sen- 
ator and  Mrs.  Leland  Stanford,  who  died  in  1884. 

The  route  on  the  Southern  Pacific  from  San  Francisco 
to  Portland  is  full  of  interest.  Mt.  Chasta  towers  in  full 
sight  14,444  feet  in  royal  majesty,  clad  in  robes  of  heaven's 
own  purity,  and  dwelling  sublimely  beneath  the  stars.  While 
traveling  two  hundred  miles,  we  can  feast  our  eyes  occasion- 
ally on  this  object  of  attraction.  Here  nature  revels  in  her 
wildest  moods.  Castle  Crag  and  Sugar-Loaf  stand  in  quiet 
grandeur,  while  the  Sacramento  tumbles  over  rocks  near  our 
track.  The  Black  Buttes  and  snowless  Sugar-Loaf  stand  out 


in  contrast  with  Shasta,  clothed  in  robes  of  ermine.  A  hot 
spring  flows  from  near  the  top  of  Shasta.  Wood  is  floated 
from  mountain  heights  in  water-chutes.  There  is  good  trout- 
fishing  in  the  upper  Sacramento  river.  The  winding  of  our 
railroad  is  full  of  interest.  It  doubles  on  itself  far  worse  than 
the  letter  S.  The  scenery  is  picturesque  and  exhilarating — 
snow-capped  summits  and  verdure-clad  mountains,  valleys 
with  streams  and  fountains.  The  day  we  passed  through 
these  scenes  was  perfect.  At  Sisson  we  stopped  to  view 
Mt.  Shasta  through  a  glass,  fourteen  miles  away,  eleven 
thousand  feet  above  where  we  stood.  At  Mt.  Shasta  min- 
eral springs  the  water  spouts  like  a  geyser  some  fifty  feet  in 
height,  and  falls  in  spray.  The  train  stopped  that  the  pas- 
sengers might  take  a  drink  of  the  mineral  waters. 


V. 

After  traveling  thirteen  hundred  miles  in  California  we 
entered  Oregon,  and  found  it  wild,  mountainous,  picturesque, 
with  snow-capped  peaks  and  green  valleys  and  hillsides,  sun- 
shiny and  delightful,  much  milder  than  in  San  Francisco. 
On  Mt.  Siskiyou  I  was  reminded  of  Satan's  offer  of  the  king- 
doms of  this  world  and  the  glory  of  them,  as  they  lay  spread 
out  in  loveliness  before  us  in  smiling  valleys,  quiet  villas, 
projecting  cliffs,  towering  crags,  romantic  glens,  mountains 
of  God,  monuments  of  infinite  power,  homes  of  peace, 
droves  of  beautiful  horses,  and  a  city  amid  the  mountains. 
Here,  at  the  city  of  Ashland,  we  stopped  for  a  few  minutes, 
and  I  met  an  old  parishioner  from  Florida.  We  exchanged 
glad  greetings  and  made  a  few  inquiries,  and  we  were  hurried 
on.  What  a  busy  world  !  Scarce  time  to  cultivate  the  sweet 
friendships  of  life.  Here  we  can  see  only  the  beginnings, 
put  some  seeds  into,  the  soil  and  do  a  little  cultivation. 
"  What  shall  the  harvest  be?" 

We  rush  on  through  a  beautiful  valley.  Young  orchards 
of  pears  are  growing.  Mountains  in  the  distance  border  our 
valley.  Yonder,  twenty  miles  away,  Mt.  Pitt  rears  its  head 
seven  thousand  feet  towards  heaven,  clad  in  a  hood  of  spot- 
less white,  which  looks  as  if  made  in  the  clouds  and  fitted  on 


by  the  angels.  And  here  over  against  it  are  two  gigantic 
fortifications  thrown  up  by  the  Creator.  They  stand  as  if  to 
defy  each  other  to  mortal  combat.  From  the  precipitous 
height  of  this  table-rock,  we  are  told,  the  soldiers  drove  the 
Indians  over  the  edge  into  death  below,  and  killed  those  who 
would  not  take  the  fearful  leap  We  are  now  in  the  Rogue's 
River  Valley,  and  will  soon  reach  Grant's  pass,  so  named 
from  Gen.  U.  S.  Grant,  who  was  here  in  his  young  soldier 
days.  Here  the  valley  is  narrow  and  clothed  in  green,  and 
we  glide  on  in  comfort  into  wider  vales  of  beauty  and  down 
the  wondrous  river,  the  Willamette,  past  those  interesting 
falls  which  attract  the  attention  of  passengers.  Soon  we  are 
in  the  city  of  Portland,  and  are  met  by  our  friends,  who 
welcome  us  to  this  beautiful  city  of  the  Pacific  coast. 

Portland  is  said  to  be  the  most  wealthy  city  in  the  United 
States  in  proportion  to  its  size,  having  eighty-seven  million- 
aires, one  of  the  number  being  a  forty -millionaire.  It 
abounds  in  fine  residences,  surrounded  by  beautiful  yards, 
carpeted  in  green,  ornamented  with  tree  and  shrub  and 
flower.  The  streets  abound  in  shade  trees.  This  city  is 
located  on  the  Willamette,  twelve  miles  above  its  junction 
with  the  Columbia.  The  view  from  the  heights  in  the  rear 
of  the  city  is  extensive,  and  takes  in  the  two  rivers  with  their 
valleys.  Portland  is  extending  east  beyond  the  Willamette 
towards  the  Columbia.  It  is  five  or  six  miles  between  the 
rivers  at  this  point.  Large  vessels  come  up  the  Columbia 


-  23  - 

and  Willamette  to  the  city  of  Portland.  The  Charleston  and 
Baltimore  of  the  U.  S.  Navy,  were  lying  at  anchor  here 
when  we  reached  the  city.  They  attracted  many  visitors. 
They  told  us  it  had  rained  here  constantly  from  November 
till  in  May,  having  cleared  off  the  day  before  our  arrival. 
We  were  kindly  told  we  had  brought  sunshine  with  us.  The 
soil  seems  so  thoroughly  soaked,  it  needs  no  more  rain  during 
summer,  and  vegetation  makes  luxuriant  growth,  and  fruits 
and  grains  and  vegetables  are  produced  in  great  abundance. 
This  is  a  land  of  timber,  too.  Grand  monarchs  of  the 
forest  tower  in  majesty  sublime.  Fir  trees  grow  so  tall  that 
a  log  150  feet  long  can  be  cut  from  a  tree.  They  are  four 
or  five  feet  in  diameter.  The  forest  composed  of  them  pre- 
sents a  majestic  appearance.  I  felt  sorry  to  see  good,  straight, 
clear  fir  split  into  cord-wood  and  used  as  fuel.  How  differ- 
ent from  California,  where  timber  is  scarce  and  fuel  is  high- 
priced.  There  they  plant  trees  for  fuel.  This  land  was  con- 
sidered worthless,  and  Dr.  Marcus  Whitman  found  it  very 
difficult  to  convince  statesmen  at  Washington  that  the  great 
far  Northwest  was  worth  keeping.  They  told  him  it  was  not 
worth  paying  taxes  for.  He  had  gone  out  to  Walla-Walla 
Valley  and  found  there  was  danger  of  our  losing  the  whole  of 
it.  The  Hudson  Bay  Company  was  planning  to  secure  it  for 
England.  Dr.  Whitman  rode  all  the  way  from  that  far-away 
wilderness  on  horseback  to  induce  our  people  to  secure  it. 
Surely  our  country  is  indebted  to  Home  Missionaries  more 
than  can  ever  be  repaid. 


-   24  — 

The  General  Assembly  excursion  on  the  aist  day  of  May, 
up  the  Columbia  river  to  the  Dalles,  showed  us  scenes  of 
wondrous  beauty.  One  of  our  company,  a  physician,  whose 
childhood  home  had  been  in  the  valley  of  Juniata,  said  to 
some  of  us  that  when  a  child,  he  thought  the  scenery  on  that 
beautiful  river  of  the  Keystone  State  was  the  finest  in  the 
world,  till  he  saw  that  on  the  Hudson  above  New  York. 
Then  he  yielded  the  palm  to  the  Hudson.  Now  it  is  his  de- 
liberate judgment  that  the  scenery  on  the  Columbia  as  far 
transcends  that  of  the  Hudson  as  that  of  the  Hudson  trans- 
cends that  of  the  Juniata. 

The  salmon  fishery  by  means  of  great  wheels  is  interesting. 
The  size  of  the  fish  and  the  amount  caught  seemed  almost 
incredible.  1  prefer  not  to  give  the  figures  given  us  and 
what  we  saw  ourselves,  lest  it  be  thought  I  was  telling  a 
fish  story. 


25  — 


VI. 

The  picture  of  the  city  of  Portland  and  its  surroundings 
so  impressed  itself  on  us  that  we  dwell  on  it  with  pleasure. 
The  soil  is  good,  and  blue-grass  and  white  and  red  clover 
carpet  the  floor  of  earth.  Horse-chestnut,  elm,  locust  and 
maple  adorn  the  streets.  The  hills  are  so  terraced  as  to  form 
beautiful  grounds  about  the  homes  of  the  people;  cable  cars 
ascend  the  steepest  hills  and  electric  cars  traverse  the  city. 
From  yonder  heights  we  take  in  the  city  and  the  grand  rivers 
beyond.  Mt.  Hood  stands  on  guard  clad  in  his  robes  of 
the  snows  of  unnumbered  years  towering  above  the  clouds. 
Mountain  streams  flow  perpetually,  pure  and  clear.  They 
told  us  the  weather  was  unusually  fine  while  we  were  there. 
The  people  of  Portland  made  us  glad  we  had  gone  to  see 
them  ;  they  made  us  feel  we  were  among  friends.  Day  after 
day  they  announced  in  the  General  Assembly,  that  if  anyone 
wished  any  change  in  his  lodging  place,  or  any  change  that 
would  add  to  his  comfort,  please  let  them  know  and  they 
would  be  glad  to^serve  us.  Their  kind  attention  to  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Assembly  we  can  not  forget.  Those  people  on 
the  Pacific  Coast  have  a  freedom  of  manner  and  a  hearty 
naturalness  in  greeting  a  stranger  that  has  a  charming  fasci- 
nation in  it  and  makes  one  feel  at  ease.  A  man  will  leave 


—    26    — 

his  business  and  go  with  you  quite  a  distance,  if  need  be,  to 
show  you  the  way.  Their  hospitality  and  kindliness  to  us 
leave  an  aroma  in  memory  that  is  delightful. 

The  General  Assembly  at  Portland  was  properly  called  a 
"  Pacific  "  Assembly.  Kindness  and  good  will  gave  character 
to  it.  There  was  a  decided  difference  of  opinion  and  of  con- 
scientious convictions  on  matters  to  be  acted  on,  and  there 
was  a  noble  manliness  in  speaking  and  voting,  yet  a  spirit  of 
fraternity  prevailed  that  gave  every  man  credit  for  honesty  of 
purpose  in  differing  from  another.  I  think  there  was  not  in 
all  the  speeches  and  remarks  made  so  much  as  one  sentence 
intended  to  hurt  the  feelings  of  any  or  to  treat  disrespectfully 
the  views  of  those  who  differed  from  the  speaker.  The  good 
Spirit  of  the  Holy  One  was  manifestly  present  in  all  our  de- 
liberations. The  Assembly  was  especially  blest  in  having  a 
Moderator  peculiarly  endowed  for  the  position.  His  quick 
discernment,  sound  judgment,  generous  nature,  orthodox 
principles  and  genial  disposition,  eminently  qualified  him  to 
preside  in  such  an  Assembly.  His  interpretations  of  the 
meaning  of  many  points  in  our  new  book  will  doubtless  stand 
as  wise  precedents  for  future  Assemblies.  I  never  saw  an 
Assembly  come  nearer  worshipping  a  Moderator  than  this 
Portland  Assembly. 

The  representative  character  of  the  Assembly  reminded 
one  of  the  day  of  Pentecost  where  the  people  had  come 
rom  so  many  countries.  In  a  little  group  I  noticed  men 


-  27  - 

from  Corea,  China,  India,  Rome,  Tennessee,  Arizona,  Michi- 
gan and  Florida.  Commissioners,  corresponding  members 
and  others  who  had  a  right  to  the  floor,  numbered  over  six 
hundred.  It  was  estimated  there  were  at  least  one  thousand 
visitors.  When  that  beautiful  church  was  packed  full  on  the 
morning  of  May  igth,  and  the  vast  congregation  rose  and 
joined  in  singing  "  Praise  God  from  whom  all  blessings 
flow,"  it  seemed  as  though  there  were  some  of  heaven  begun 
on  earth.  The  closing  scenes  of  the  Assembly  were  as  near 
what  such  ought  to  be  perhaps  as  they  ever  are  in  this  sinful 
world.  I  trust  the  good  Lord  himself  was  pleased.  I  do 
think  the  Apostle  John  would  have  enjoyed  it  much  had  he 
been  there.  Then  came  the  "good-byes,"  and  we  turned 
away  glad  and  sorry — glad  we  had  gone,  and  sorry  we  had 
to  come  away. 

We  spent  a  day  in  Portland  after  the  Assembly  was  over 
and  visited  some  kind  friends  we  had  not  had  time  to  visit 
while  the  Assembly  was  in  session.  Then  on  the  second 
morning  after  the  Assembly  we  left  for  Tacoma  via  the 
Northern  Pacific  Railroad.  We  had  come  via  the  Southern 
Pacific  from  New  Orleans  to  Portland,  and  in  leaving  that 
road  I  feel  I  would  not  do  my  duty  did  I  not  commend  that 
route  to  my  friends.  The  "Sunset"  and  "Shasta"  routes  of 
the  Southern  Pacific  I  do  heartily  recommend.  The  appoint- 
ments of  the  Company  are  good,  and  I  was  treated  with  kind- 
ness on  the  whole  route.  I  was  so  comfortable  that  at  the  end 


—    28    — 

of  the  four-thousand-miles'  travel  from  home  I  was  as  vigor- 
ous as  when  I  started.  On  June  zd  we  left  Portland  by  rail 
and  came  down  the  valley  of  the  Willamette  and  the  Columbia, 
and  were  ferried  over  the  latter  river  into  Washington,  and 
found  the  country  largely  a  forest  of  fir,  many  of  the  trees  tall, 
symmetrical,  royal.  We  pass  through  some  pretty  valleys. 
The  first  city  of  importance  we  touch  is  Olympia,  located  on 
Puget  Sound,  over  one  hundred  miles  from  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
Puget  Sound  is  the  Mediterranean  of  the  Western  continent. 
It  is  a  study  in  itself.  The  largest  ocean  vessels  can  traverse 
this  body  of  water  in  all  of  its  wonderful  ramifications,  which 
afford  ample,  safe,  unobstructed  navigation.  I  know  not  its 
equal  as  a  sound  in  all  the  world.  They  have  over  five  hun- 
dred feet  of  water  out  in  front  of  the  wharf  at  Tacoma. 
Great  populations,  thriving  cities,  shall  surely  abound  on  the 
shores  of  this  interesting  inland  sea.  Tacoma  and  Seattle 
are  two  of  them  already  well  under  way. 


—  29 


VII. 

Tacomi  is  a  city  of  some  forty-seven  thousand  inhabit- 
ants, located  on  Puget  Sound,  built  on  a  bluff  perhaps  three 
hundred  feet  high,  beautiful  for  situation,  on  tide-water,  the 
tide  rising  six  feet  at  that  point.  This  is  a  thrifty,  growing, 
promising  city,  102  miles  from  Victoria,  on  Vancouver  Island. 
Tacoma  is  destined  to  be  a  large  and  important  city  by  means 
of  ocean-going  vessels  and  through-railroads  carrying  men 
and  merchandise  to  and  from  this  far-away  land.  It  is  well 
supplied  with  saw-mills,  in  which  we  were  much  interested 
while  watching  them  saw  huge  fir  logs  of  perhaps  five  feet  in 
diameter  and  forty  feet  in  length.  In  "double  quick  time," 
with  two  immense  circular  saws,  they  cut  a  giant  log  into 
lumber.  A  stream  of  water  in  a  chute  carried  off  the  saw- 
dust, and  an  endless  band,  with  slats  across,  conveyed  away 
the  scraps,  and  supplied  a  fire  which  seemed  continually 
burning  to  dispose  of  constant  accumulations.  This  city  has 
good,  substantial  business  houses,  and  fine  residences  with 
beautiful  grounds.  It  is  a  city  set  upon  a  hill,  and  of  mag- 
nificent distances;  has  made  an  amazing  growth  in  the  past 
few  years,  and  surely  has  a  grand  future.  From  the  higher 
parts  there  is  a  fine  outlook,  the  Olympian  Mountains  being 
on  the  one  side,  and  the  king  of  mountains,  Tacoma,  tower- 
ing 14,444  feet  towards  the  stars,  clad  in  his  robes  of  spotless 
white  continually.  With  joy  and  pride  the  people  of  Tacoma 


-   3o  - 

point  out  this  monarch  of  mountains  to  the  visitor.  He  is  a 
little  shy,  and  frequently  refuses  to  appear  in  his  ro'nes  of 
state,  and  veils  his  glory  from  anxious  eyes. 

In  Tacoma  we  spent  delightful  days  with  friends  of  former 
years,  and  were  treated  right  royally.  At  church  we  met  a 
number  of  Western  Pennsylvanians,  and  felt  quite  at  home. 
They  are  a  sort  of  omnipresent  race,  and  are  found  every- 
where, and  have  the  faculty  of  rinding  out  good  places. 
Western  Pennsylvania  is  said  to  be  not  only  a  good  place  to 
live  in,  but  a  good  place  to  move  from.  My  observation  has 
been  that  they  are  good  material  to  build  up  new  towns  with, 
and  other  people  are  glad  to  have  them.  Our  good  brother, 
Rev.  Jonathan  Osmond,  has  a  comfortable  home  here.  Time 
has  dealt  kindly  with  him,  and  he  is  happy  in  the  vigor  of 
his  years. 

There  is  one  remark  I  will  make  here  that  applies  to  all 
the  cities  of  the  Pacific  coast.  It  is  this  :  The  conductors  of 
electric  and  cable  cars  are,  as  a  class,  a  remarkably  fine-look- 
ing set  of  men,  well  developed,  with  intelligent  faces,  gentle- 
manly in  their  deportment,  and  much  above  the  average  in 
that  employment  East.  I  was  told  the  explanation  was  that 
hosts  of  young  men  had  gone  West,  many  of  them  educated, 
some  of  them  college  graduates,  and  finding  the  positions 
generally  filled,  they  had  accepted  any  employment  that  was 
offered.  I  was  impressed  with  this  fact  in  Los  Angeles,  San 
Francisco,  Portland,  and  also  in  this  city. 

Tacoma  has  a  rival  twenty-eight  miles  north  on  the  Sound 


-  31  - 

Seattle  has  fifty  thousand  inhabitants,  and  is  a  much  older 
place.  It  is  situated  on  a  hill  which  slopes  gradually  to  the 
water,  and  presents  an  imposing  appearance  from  the  steamer 
as  we  come  up  to  the  harbor.  In  the  rear  of  Seattle  is  Lake 
Washington,  a  fine  body  of  fresh  water,  with  a  park  on  the 
edge  of  the  lake,  and  cedar  trees,  said  to  be  from  eight  to 
ten  feet  in  diameter  at  the  stump,  and  two  hundred  feet  in 
height.  The  lake  is  fourteen  feet  above  the  Sound.  A  ship- 
canal  from  the  Sound  into  the  lake  will  enable  ships  troubled 
with  barnacles  to  enter  the  fresh  water,  where  they  will  soon 
be  cleaned  by  simply  standing  in  the  fresh  water.  This  I 
was  told  by  one  who  claimed  to  know.  It  is  proposed  to 
make  this  canal  in  the  near  future. 

From  Seattle  we  sailed  to  Port  Townsend,  a  United  States 
porl  of  entry,  a  place  of  importance  as  such.  We  met  Mr. 
A.  W.  Bash,  for  many  years  collector  of  this  port.  He  gave 
us  much  information  concerning  this  region.  President  Har- 
rison lodged  with  him  when  on  a  vacation  trip  up  here.  He 
pointed  out  to  us  the  forest  in  which  the  President  hunted  wild 
animals.  From  Port  Townsend  we  sailed  across  the  strait 
Juan  De  Fuca  to  Victoria,  on  Vancouver  Island.  The  island 
is  four  hundred  miles  long  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
wide,  with  snow-capped  mountains,  extensive  coal  fields,  the 
largest  on  the  Pacific  coast,  and  furnishes  lumber  for  export. 
Victoria  is  a  city  of  ten  thousand  people,  on  the  coast,  with 
a  good  harbor  for  the  largest  vessels.  It  is  a  trade-centre 


-  32  - 

for  all  that  region  ;  its  gold  mines  on  the  island  furnish  now 
only  about  half  a  million  dollars  annually.  It  was  the  head- 
quarters of  the  old  Hudson  Bay  Company.  Objects  of  inter- 
est there  are  the  Esquimault  harbor,  British  navy  yard,  gov- 
ernment buildings,  and  Lord  Dunsmore's  castle.  The  clim- 
ate is  mild  for  so  far  north,  but  ladies  dress  in  furs  in  June, 
and  wear  heavy  dresses  and  coats,  and  gentlemen  wear 
overcoats  in  summer.  British  sailors  are  seen  everywhere 
in  town.  The  place  has  a  different  appearance  from  an 
American  town,  but  not  antique,  as  Quebec.  The  streets 
are  narrow  and  the  buildings  substantial.  Electric  street  cars 
carry  us  where  we  wish  to  go,  charging  ten  cents,  Canadian 
money,  for  what  our  cars  charge  five  cents.  Immediately 
adjacent  on  the  east  of  Vancouver  Island  are  the  islands, 
sixty  in  number,  of  the  San  Juan  Archipelago,  which  once 
threatened  to  embroil  two  nations  in  war.  Britain  had  pos- 
session on  the  north  end  of  one  of  the  islands  and  Uncle 
Sam  had  hold  of  the  south  end  of  the  same  island.  A  man 
cut  down  a  tree  half-way  between,  and  it  was  asked  who  was 
entitled  to  the  price  of  the  tree.  The  question  was  referred 
to  good  old  King  William.  After  looking  the  matter  over  he 
drew  a  line  on  the  west  of  the  archipelago,  and  so  decided  it 
belonged  to  us.  This  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  most  interest- 
ing archipelagoes  in  the  world,  even  to  transcend  in  variety 
and  enchantment  the  One  Thousand  Islands  of  the  St.  Law- 
rence. Old  orchards  abound  on  the  islands. 


—  33 


VIII. 

Our  trip  on  Puget  Sound  on  the  beautiful  steamer  City 
of  Kingston,  from  Tacoma  to  Victoria,  was  full  of  interest. 
The  Sound,  with  its  harbors  and  its  channels,  its  cities  and 
its  adjacent  forests  of  historic  importance,  kept  us  constantly 
on  the  lookout.  Its  indented  coasts,  deep  waters,  mild 
climate,  and  intensely  patriotic  people,  brought  in  contact, 
as  they  are,  with  those  of  the  Queen's  dominion,  we  can  not 
forget.  We  had  the  society  of  old  friends,  and  of  new  ones 
whose  acquaintance  we  had  just  made,  so  that  June  3d  was 
to  us  a  red-letter  day. 

Victoria  is  nearly  49°  north  latitude,  with  the  polar  star 
well  up  towards  the  zenith.  One  is  able  to  read  by  natural 
light  at  10  o'clock  at  night  in  the  long  days  of  June.  The 
heartiness  of  the  greetings  we  received,  and  the  friendly 
manners  of  those  people  of  the  Pacific  coast,  we  can  not 
forget.  Pleasant  memories  come  up  as  we  think  of  them. 
As  we  look  back  on  our  mental  picture  of  that  Mediteranean 
of  the  North,  with  all  that  belongs  to  it,  we  are  sure  it  will 
be  the  centre  of  a  busy,  earnest,  active  population,  engaged 
in  the  varied  industries  of  civilization,  and  conducting  an  ex-* 
tensive  commerce  with  the  eastern  continent,  as  well  as  with 
our  own  vast  country  and  the  British  dominions. 


-  34  - 

The  vastness  of  our  country  can  not  be  grasped  without 
traveling  over  it  and  stopping  frequently  to  take  it  in.  From 
the  peninsula  of  South  Florida  on  the  southeast,  to  Puget 
Sound  on  the  northwest,  we  have  resources  of  such  variety 
in  climate  and  abundance  in  all  natural  supplies,  and  in  all 
that  is  needed  for  the  full  development  of  a  great  and  noble 
people,  that  if  we  fail  it  will  not  be  the  fault  of  our  Creator, 
who  has  provided  us  richly  with  all  material  ready  to  hand. 
Surely  everyone  ought  to  be  suited  somewhere  in  our  extended 
domain,  and  yet  how  many  complain.  A  grander,  nobler, 
more  varied  inheritance  we  can  scarce  conceive  how  our  God 
could  give  us,  far  exceeding  that  granted  to  his  chosen  Israel. 
That  was  only  a  miniature  type  of  this  promised  land  reserved 
for  us  in  this  country  of  the  setting  sun  beyond  the  western 
ocean,  as  the  ancient  called  the  watery  waste  beyond.  What 
an  incentive  to  secure  this  wondrous  inheritance  for  Him  who 
gave  himself  to  redeem  this  world  from  sin '. 

On  Tuesday  night,  at  n  145,  we  left  Tacoma  and  crossed 
the  Cascade  Mountains.  On  the  morning  of  the  8th  of  June, 
we  bade  good-bye  to  that  king  of  mountains,  Mt.  Tacoma, 
as  he  stood  in  sacred  robes  of  ermine,  towering  in  the  sun- 
light of  heaven  to  lift  our  thoughts  on  high.  We  fyin  scarcely 
wonder  the  ancients,  without  revelation,  thought  the  mountain 
tops  the  abodes  of  the  gods — so  high,  so  commanding,  so 
pure.  The  sight  of  such  heights  sublime  has  a  hallowing  in- 
fluence on  minds  properly  disposed.  By  and  by  we  lose 


-  35  - 

sight  of  that  royal  eminence  and  pass  on  through  the  valley 
to  the  Rockies.  The  plains  in  the  valley  are  barren  and  mo- 
notonous. Small  towns  here  and  there,  and  streams  from 
the  mountains,  occasionally  break  the  monotony  as  we  glide 
smoothly  on.  Some  valleys  off  the  through-line  of  the  North- 
ern Pacific  Railroad  are  said  to  be  exceedingly  fertile.  Walla 
Walla  is  one  of  them.  It  produces  abundantly  wheat,  and 
fruits  of  many  varieties.  The  city  of  Walla  Walla,  with  seven 
thousand  people  and  its  institutions  of  learning,  sits  as  a 
queen  in  the  midst  of  the  valley.  Here  it  was  that  man  of 
blessed  memory,  Dr.  Marcus  Whitman,  first  located  as  mis- 
sionary to  the  Indians;  he,  with  Spalding,  introducing  civil- 
ization and  Christianity  to  that  hitherto  unknown  region,  and 
being  instrumental  in  saving  that  empire  of  the  great  North- 
west to  the  United  States.  This  valley,  blooming  as  the  gar- 
den of  God,  is  a  fit  remembrancer  of  the  early  labors  of  a 
Home  Missionary  in  that  distant  western  wild.  The  gavel 
of  the  Moderator  of  our  late  General  Assembly  was  made  of 
wood  of  an  apple-tree  planted  by  Dr.  Whitman  in  1838. 
The  world  moves,  the  cause  of  righteousness  progresses,  the 
land  is  being  redeemed  from  savagery  and  sin ;  the  comple- 
tion of  th&  good  work  is  only  a  question  of  time.  It  is  good 
to  look  back  through  long  reaches,  and  see  what  progress  has 
been  made. 

We  pass  on  and  enter  the  Rocky  Mountains.    Mountains, 
like  men,  greatly  differ.     Some  are  tall,  some  are  low,  some 


-  36  - 

are  bald,  some  well  covered  with  natural  growth,  some  wear 
an  earth-grown  head-dress,  some  are  arrayed  in  those  woven 
without  seam  in  the  loom  of  heaven,  and  these  they  have 
worn  for  centuries.  Some  mountains  are  gray  and  some  are 
green,  and  yet  are  old.  Some  are  well  supplied  with  full 
pockets  and  are  liberal  in  dealing  out  precious  metals.  Others 
are  like  ordinary  mortals. 

Here  we  are  at  Butte  City,  rich  in  mines  of  silver  and 
copper.  Its  mountains  are  bald,  their  sides  bored  by  pro- 
spectors. The  city  consists  largely  of  plain,  wooden  houses. 
This  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  richest  mining  regions  in  the 
country.  We  pass  so  rapidly  along  through  vast  extent  we 
scarce  realize  its  magnitude.  Since  leaving  Oregon  we  have 
traveled  through  Washington,  an  empire  of  itself,  Idaho,  and 
well  into  Montana,  abounding  in  mountains,  mines  and  fir 
trees.  The  plains  east  of  the  Cascades  produce  only  sage 
brush.  The  western  portion  of  the  Rockies  are  something 
like  the  Olympians,  clad  in  trees  and  verdure.  The  eastern 
Cascades  and  the  Rockies  on  the  "divide"  about  Butte  are 
bald  like  the  Southern  Sierras  of  Southern  California,  Ari- 
zona, New  Mexico  and  Western  Texas,  treeless,  desolate, 
and  grassless.  But  generally  the  Rocky  Mountains  have 
much  of  the  beautiful  as  well  as  the  grand,  carpeted  with 
grass,  ornamented  with  firs,  and  alive  with  streams  fed  by 
melting  snows  on  the  mountain  tops. 


—  37   — 


IX. 

ROCKY  MOUNTAINS. 

As  we  glided  smoothly  on  through  a  quiet  valley  in  the 
great  Rocky  Mountains,  looking  out  on  their  sublime  heights 
and  wondrous  solitudes,  and  tumbling  streams  of  limpid 
waters  sparkling  in  the  sunlight,  we  were  reminded  of  that 
stanza  of  our  childhood  : 

''  Morn  amid  the  mountains, 

Lovely  solitude ; 
Gushing  streams  and  fountains 
Murmur  '  God  is  good.'  " 

Waking  from  a  good  night's  rest  in  our  Pullman  palace 
•car,  we  were  in  fine  condition  to  take  in  the  grandeur  of  our 
surroundings.  One  pleasant  thought  insisted  on  being  promi- 
nent in  our  musings.  It  was  of  the  abundance  of  material 
the  Creator  had  on  hand  when  he  formed  these  mountains. 
Towering  in  peaks  and  strewn  profusely  in  lofty  ranges  they 
crowded  thickly  on  every  hand,  and  it  seemed  so  easy  for 
the  Omnipotent  to  toss  the  plastic  material  into  such  fantastic 
shapes  and  inextricable  confusion,  yet  with  a  certain  orderly 
system  apparent  everywhere.  We  had  been  traveling  amid 
mountains  so  long  they  seemed  familiar  friends ;  yet  we  con- 


-  3s  - 

tinued  to  climb  till  at  last  we  were  nearing  the  "grand 
divide "  of  the  continent,  from  which  the  waters  flow  east 
through  many  rivulets  and  larger  streams  into  the  Missouri 
and  on  down  the  "Father  of  Waters"  into  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico.  Those  falling  west  of  this  water-shed  contribute  to 
the  great  Columbia  which  bears  them  on  to  the  Pacific. 

The  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  runs  two  loops  or  branches 
from  Garrison  to  Logan.  The  northern  loop  leads  through 
Helena,  the  other  through  Butte  City.  We  do  not  know 
how  grand  the  former  is,  but  we  enjoyed  the  scenery  on  the 
latter  to  the  utmost  of  our  capacity.  The  mountains  here 
are  rugged,  bald,  bold,  picturesque,  and  well  deserve  the 
name  of  "  Rockies."  After  leaving  Butte  City  the  sublimity 
of  the  mountains  deserves  special  mention — rock  piled  upon 
rock  all  the  way  up,  as  we  gazed  on  the  heights  above  us 
built  of  Nature's  solid  masonry,  till  the  clouds  were  left  be- 
low, and,  looking  out  on  the  other  side  of  the  train,  it  seemed 
rock  all  the  way  down — canons  and  gulches  vast,  built  of 
basaltic  rock  in  Nature's  careless,  rugged  architecture,  not 
marred  by  any  stiff  rules,  but  easy,  flowing,  natural.  From 
these  towers  of  God  much  material,  left  over,  lies  tumbled 
about  in  Divine  profusion  in  the  shape  of  bowlders,  countless 
as  the  grains  of  sand  upon  the  ocean's  shore.  Yet  these 
sacred  places  have  been  profaned,  for  on  these  wondrous 
bowlders  we  were  compelled  to  read,  "Southern  Hotel. 
Meals  twenty-five  cents,"  and  many  similar  notices,  and  this, 


-  39  - 

too,  in  one  of  the  most  wild,  picturesque  points.  Love  of 
money  !  Enterprising  Yankee  !  Is  there  no  hallowed  spot 
you  dare  not  desecrate  ?  I  am  heartily  glad  of  that  short 
sentence  in  the  Book  of  God  which  reads,  "  Without  are 
dogs."  There  is  some  place  in  God's  dominions  they  can 
not  invade  who  do  not  prize  the  sacred. 

But  here  look  from  the  car-windows  !  Above  us,  below 
us,  and  on  every  side  of  us  tower  mountain  peaks  in  close 
proximity.  Mighty,  wondrous  are  the  works  of  the  Creator  ! 
We  held  our  breath  as  our  train  passed  over  yawning  chasms. 
on  slender-looking  trestle-work.  The  rocky  formations  here 
are  tilted  sixty  degrees  or  more,  and  giant  pillars  occasionally 
stand  perpendicular.  Ofttimes  the  rocks  are  built  in  solid 
mass  for  long  distances  and  tower  in  majesty.  Again,  they 
are  built  as  if  by  design  in  walls,  and  here  they  lie  in  careless 
style  so  closely,  that  the  stunted  fir  tree  has  found  no  starting 
place.  Wherever  soil  sufficient  has  been  gained,  the  seed  of 
the  fir  has  lodged  and  the  tree  has  reared  its  aspiring  head. 
Here  as  we  pass  on  we  see  the  whole  army  of  God  drawn 
up,  too  vast  to  review.  Mountain  ranges  tower  in  the  dis- 
tance and  stretch  in  the  blue  atmosphere  far  away,  determined 
to  shut  us  in,  while  nearer  peaks  clad  in  fir,  and  broken  by 
canons  and  narrow  vales,  lie  between.  Mountains  snow- 
capped ;  mountains  without  caps ;  mountains  black  and 
mountains  blue  ;  mountains  green  and  mountains  gray,  at- 
tract our  gaze  on  every  hand.  Mountains  to  the  right,  to  the 


left,  behind,  before,  shut  us  in,  and  mountains  beneath  hold 
us  aloft  till  heaven  seems  near.  Tall,  towering  mounts  stand 
as  sentinels  to  guard  these  sacred  grounds.  Silence  reigns  in  - 
our  car,  for  it  seems  that  God  is  here  ;  some  of  us  uncover 
our  heads  in  his  presence,  and  tears  unbidden  come.  The 
very  train  moves  slowly  and  reverently  on  amid  these  hal- 
lowed scenes.  As  we  look,  yonder  mountain  with  a  beaute- 
ous valley  this  side  bursts  with  enchantment  on  our  view  to 
the  right,  and  another  peak  and  gorge  on  our  left  ciaim  our 
unbounded  admiration.  Here  the  mountains  are  devoid  of  all 
vegetation  except  a  sickly-looking  grass  which  tries  to  grow 
on  the  detritus  of  rock,  but  does  not  make  much  of  a  success. 
We  now  start  on  a  down  grade,  for  we've  passed  the  crest 
of  the  Rockies.  I  confess  to  feelings  of  regret  at  coming 
down  ftom  those  rare  and  sacred  retreats.  Gradually  we 
wind  down  into  the  valley  of  the  Gallatin  river,  one  of  the 
head  waters  of  the  Missouri.  This  valley  is  irrigated  from 
mountain  streams,  so  we  see  large  droves  of  horses  and  cattle 
grazing  in  pasture-fields,  and  here  are  cultivated  lands,  with 
farm-houses  and  barns,  presenting  a  thrifty,  home-like  ap- 
pearance. Farmers  are  plowing,  with  four  horses  abreast 
drawing  a  gang-plow.  Snow  on  the  mountains  makes  the 
air  chilly.  A  shower  of  rain  is  coming  over  the  city  of  Boze- 
man  as  our  train  comes  in.  Bozeman  is  a  candidate  for 
the  State  capital.  Flags  are  floating  in  the  city  in  honor  of 
the  Democratic  convention  to  nominate  delegates  to  the 
National  convention  to  meet  in  Chicago,  June  2ist. 


-   41    — 

Soon  we  reach  Livingston,  a  rather  pretty  town  in  a  valley 
in  the  mountains,  where  we  spent  the  night,  and  next  morn- 
ing we  took  the  train  for  the  Yellowstone  National  Park. 
Our  train  leaves  the  main  line  of  the  Northern  Pacific  and 
at  once  enters  the  canon  and  runs  up  beside  a  rapid  stream, 
the  Gardner  river,  between  mountains  towering  in  rugged 
sublimity.  Through  scenes  of  beauty  and  of  grandeur  we 
passed  on  to  Cinnabar,  so  named  from  the  red  ore  of  quick- 
silver in  mines  near  by.  Here  we  took  stage  coaches  for  the 
Mammoth  Hot  Springs  Hotel,  where  we  must  stop  with  our 
friends  and  begin  to  view  the  wonders  of  the  Yellowstone 
Park. 


X. 

YELLOWSTONE  PARK. 

This  park  lies  mainly  in  the  northwestern  corner  of  Wy- 
oming, with  a  narrow  slice  only  from  Montana  and  Idaho. 
It  is  a  rectangular  plat  of  fifty-five  miles  east  and  west  and 
sixty-five  miles  from  north  to  south,  containing  about  3575 
square  miles,  being  about  two  hundred  square  miles  larger 
than  Rhode  Island  and  Delaware  combined.  It  is  on  top  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains;  the  lowest  elevation  of  any  of  its- 
narrow  valleys  is  six  thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  and  several 
of  them  are  said  to  be  from  one  thousand  to  two  thousand 
feet  higher.  Lofty  mountain  peaks  rear  their  proud  heads 
capped  with  snow,  from  ten  thousand  to  twelve  thousand  feet 
above  sea  level,  giving  variety  to  the  scenery. 

In  1872  Congress  "reserved  this  ground  from  settlement 
and  set  it  apart  as  a  public  park  for  the  benefit  and  enjoyment 
of  the  people."  It  is  about  the  only  way  it  can  be  profitably 
used.  It  is  utterly  unsuited  to  agriculture,  and  so  volcanic  in 
origin  minerals  are  not  sought  for  within  its  limits.  Sheep  or 
cattle  would  surely  starve  or  freeze  if  they  attempted  to  live 
there.  But  the  Yellowstone  is  an  interesting  region  to  visit. 
We  spent  five  days  and  a  quarter  in  this  wonderland. 

We  traveled  through   the   park  in   stage  coaches.      We 


-    43    - 

entered  it  from  Cinnabar  and  stopped  at  the  Mammoth  Hot 
Springs  Hotel,  where  a  good,  lively  fire  in  a  large  stove  made 
us  comfortable  on  the  loth  of  June.  After  lunch  a  company 
of  us,  with  a  guide  to  lead  the  way,  made  the  tour  of  the  Hot 
Springs,  walking  some  three  and  a  half  miles  up  an  ascent  of 
seven  hundred  feet  over  terrace  formations  of  wondrous 
beauty.  At  times  we  threaded  our  way  through  rills  of  hot 
water  issuing  from  the  depths.  On  the  heights  we  looked 
down  into  deep  caves  bearing  Satanic  names.  Some  of  our 
company  descended  into  the  dark  abysses;  some  of  us  were 
satisfied  with  looking  down  into  the  caverns.  We  stood  on 
the  height,  seven  thousand  feet  above  sea  level,  and  gazed  at 
Mt.  Evarts,  six  hundred  feet  above  us. 

Next  morning,  June  nth,  seven  of  us  took  a  stage  coach, 
drawn  by  four  strong,  reliable  horses  with  a  good  driver.  It 
is  not  safe  to  start  with  any  other  kind  to  travel  up  steep 
ascents  and  on  the  ragged  edges  of  frightful  precipices. 
We  traveled  forty-two  miles  that  day  through  a  snow-storm, 
over  mountainous  heights  through  an  untamed  country,  by 
obsidian  cliffs,  boiling  springs,  steaming  fountains,  and  by 
streams  that  in  surging  rapids  plunged  on  to  where  they  had 
a  more  peaceful  flow.  At  times  our  roadway  was  exceedingly 
precipitous,  winding  around  mountain  peaks  where  gorges  lay 
below,  and  at  times  up  ascents  where  our  noble  horses  would 
have  to  stop  for  a  minute  to  blow  and  rest,  before  going  on 
again  to  take  us  over  the  crests  and  down  the  other  side. 


—  44  — 

Then  our  way  led  us  through  a  narrow  valley  and  by  a  boil- 
ing fountain ;  we  soon,  however,  began  to  ascend  again  an- 
other hill  covered  with  small  fir  trees.  There  is  really  no 
summer  here.  It  may  snow  any  month  in  the  year.  We 
were  told  that  winter  lasted  every  year  for  nine  months  and 
there  was  rough  weather  the  other  three. 

At  noon  we  stopped  at  Norris'  Springs  and  took  lunch 
and  rested  for  an  hour  and  a  half  in  a  large  canvas  tent, 
the  hotel  having  been  burned  a  short  time  before.  It  was 
cold  and  snowing,  but  we  were  so  wrapped  in  great  overcoats 
and  shawls  and  blankets  our  intimate  friends  would  scarce 
have  recognized  us.  Again  we  went  over  mountain  and  by 
steaming  fountain  and  stream  and  rugged  highland,  enjoying 
views  that  we  ^ere  told  by  those  who  have  been  in  the  Alps, 
much  resemble  those  of  Switzerland.  They  who  have  been 
there  say  our  own  wonderland,  in  grandeur  and  sublimity, 
exceeds  anything  Eu*ope  can  furnish. 

At  the  end  of  an  eight  hours'  stage  ride  we  reached  the 
"Lower  Basin"  and  put  up  at  the  "Fountain  Hotel" — a 
very  extensive  and  comfortable  lodging  place.  It  is  supplied 
with  the  modern  conveniences — electric  lights  and  steam- 
heaters,  a  spacious  dining  room,  large  sleeping  apartments 
with  heaters  in  them,  and  tables  with  a  good  bill  of  fare,  all 
of  which  were  prized  by  weary,  hungry,  chilly  tourists.  An 
extensive  fire-place,  all  aglow  with  blazing  fir  five  feet  in 
length,  gave  us  a  welcome  appreciated  by  our  company.  As 


-  45  - 

soon  as  we  had  been  assigned  our  rooms  and  thoroughly 
warmed  and  had  eaten  our  dinner,  we  started  for  the  gey- 
sers one  quarter  of  a  mile  distant  on  an  elevation  in  full 
sight. 

We  went  direct  to  the  most  noted  one  in  that  basin — the 
"Fountain" — which  was  at  the  time  preparing  to  give  us  an 
exhibition  of  its  wondrous  power.  We  stood  by  its  basin  and 
watched  it  boiling.  As  it  did  not  seem  quite  ready  for  dis- 
play, I  walked  a  few  rods  further  on  where  another  geyser 
was  at  work.  Looking  about  after  I  stopped,  I  saw  I  was 
standing  about  the  centre  of  a  square  containing  four  geysers. 
One  of  them  was  named  "  Clep-Sydra"  which  seemed  about 
as  regular  as  a  clock  in  throwing  forth  its  boiling  contents, 
shooting  a  volume  of  water  scalding  hot  about  twenty  feet 
into  the  air,  sometimes  higher.  The  water  that  spouts  from 
these  geysers  is  clear  as  crystal,  boiling,  some  of  them,  here 
on  the  mountain  top,  at  197°  Fahrenheit  and  some  at  188°. 
Repeatedly  I  put  my  fingers  in  to  try  it  and  jerked  them  back 
as  if  I  had  put  my  finger  in  the  spout  of  a  boiling  tea-kettle. 
The  force  with  which  these  streams  of  water  were  driven  into 
the  air  was  such  that  if  confined  an  earthquake  would  inevi- 
tably follow.  Presently  another  geyser  near  by,  that  had 
been  fiercely  boiling,  was  shooting  its  hot  waters  into  the  air, 
and  its  neighbor  was  in  full  sympathy  and  strove,  if  possible, 
to  outdo  its  rival  in  tossing  boiling  waters. 

Meantime  I  heard  a  call,  and  looking  towards  the  "  Foun- 


-  46  - 

tain"  geyser  I  had  left,  saw  a  dense  cloud,  and  my  friends 
were  not  in  sight.  I  knew  the  "Fountain"  was  playing  and 
started  towards  it.  I  found  my  traveling  companions  in  full 
delight,  looking  on.  It  was  shooting  up  a  river  of  boiling 
water,  some  jets  of  which  reached  the  height  of  fifty  feet. 
The  water  falling  back  was  dashed  and  churned  till  it  seemed 
as  if  a  terrific  storm  was  raging,  at  whose  grandeur  we  could 
gaze  in  perfect  safety,  standing  a  few  feet  away.  This  geyser 
has  its  regular  appointment  once  in  every  five  hours  and  fif- 
teen minutes,  and  it  is  much  more  prompt  in  beginning 
service  than  many  people.  Its  devotions  last  just  half  an 
hour  and  it  quits  accurately  on  time.  It  is  surely  faithful  in 
rendering  praise  to  the  omnipotent  Creator. 


-  47    - 

XI. 
YELLOWSTONE    PARK. 

I  found  it  exceedingly  interesting  to  wander  all  alone  at 
•"my  own  sweet  will"  over  the  vast  mound  covered  with 
geyser  formation,  and  hunt  up  geysers,  large  and  small,  and 
boilers  here  and  there  I  had  not  seen  or  been  told  about. 
The  Creator's  law  of  "  unity  amid  variety"  finds  beautiful 
illustration  there.  All  sorts  of  figures  and  devices  appear  in 
the  spouting  of  hot  water  from  the  depths.  From  the  mighty 
"Fountain"  already  described,  down  to  tiny  geysers  one- 
fourth  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  and  some  growlers,  bitterly 
complaining  because  of  their  inability  to  send  the  waters 
above  the  surface  and  attract  the  gaze  of  the  passers-by. 
Looking  down  the  openings,  I  saw  the  water  furiously  boil- 
ing, and  the  steam  issuing  through  the  orifice.  But  they 
were  only  boilers,  and  could  not  aspire  to  be  geysers,  and  so 
spend  their  days  in  unavailing  growling.  One  can  wander 
where  he  please,  with  care,  and  enjoy  these  ebullitions  of 
power,  seen  in  such  variety,  and  of  such  character  nowhere 
else  on  earth  as  far  as  reported. 

I  stood  in  wonder  by  the  "  Paint  Pots,"  in  a  basin  forty 
by  sixty  feet,  with  a  rim  from  one  to  four  feet  high.  This 
vast  pot  or  cauldron  is  filled  with  a  fine,  white,  pasty  mass 


-  48  - 

of  silicious  clay  in  constant  agitation,  bursting  in  bubbles 
with  a  flop-flop  like  boiling  mush  on  an  immense  scale. 
Mud  puffs  send  out  spurts  of  mud,  or  paste,  with  steam,  and 
this  keeps  up  continuously  day  and  night  the  year  round, 
and  has  done  so  from  time  immemorial.  After  boiling  for  a 
long  time,  the  white  clay  turns  to  a  light  pink.  In  the  distance 
we  saw  steam  slowly  and  constantly  rising,  indicating  that 
this  great  basin  on  top  of  the  Rockies  was  one  of  Nature's 
safety  valves  to  prevent  volcanic  eruptions. 

We  were  told  the  geysers  in  the  park  number  seventy- 
five,  and  the  boiling  springs  and  paint  pots  between  four  hun- 
dred and  five  hundred.  So  there  being  more  to  see,  we  took 
our  stage  coach  and  traveled  on  ten  miles  to  the  Upper  Gey- 
ser Basin.  We  got  out  at  the  hotel  and  inquired  for  "Old 
Faithful."  "Yonder  he  is,"  said  our  guide,  pointing  to  a 
mound  eighty  rods  away — that  is  as  near  as  a  hotel  is  permit- 
ted to  be  to  a  geyser.  "  How  soon  will  he  play?"  was  our 
next  question.  "It  will  be  nearly  an  hour,  for  he  has  just 
played,"  was  the  answer.  As  we  stepped  into  the  office  of 
the  hotel,  we  saw  the  "time-table"  giving  the  times  of  "Old 
Faithful's"  playing,  as  we  have  railroad  time-tables.  We 
soon  walked  over  to  the  famous  geyser.  In  playing  for 
ages  it  had  accumulated  a  mound  thirteen  feet  in  height, 
gradually  sloping  on  all  sides,  by  the  deposit  from  the  hot 
water  spouted  from  below.  The  deposit  consists  chiefly  of 
carbonate  of  lime. 


-  49  - 

While  waiting  for  "Old  Faithful"  to  complete  prepara- 
tions for  exhibition,  we  wandered  off  to  other  geysers  across 
the  brook  that  flows  near  by.  We  kept  our  eye  oil  our  watch1 
so  as  not  to  rniss  "Old  Faithful's"  playing.  We  returned 
when  time  was  nearly  up,  and  were  ready,  standing  close  by., 
when,  true  to  his  name,  he  gave  us,  on  time,  a  magnificent 
display  of  his  powers,  and  we  stood  and  gazed  for  five  min- 
utes at  the  stream  of  hot  water  thrown  with  terrific  force  per- 
pendicularly into  the  air  from  no  to  150  feet  high.  There 
it  stands,  a  column  of  water,  constantly  supplied  and  as  con- 
stantly falling  back  outside  of  the  column.  It  appears  like  a 
living  thing  of  rare  beauty  and  grandeur.  In  the  sunshine  it 
shows  us  diamonds  of  exquisite  brilliancy  and  rainbows  of 
celestial  glory.  We  stood  with  feeling  of  unutterable  awe  and 
delight,  looking  at  one  of  God's  fountains  playing  for  the  en- 
joyment of  his  children.  Surely  our  Father  is  pleased  to  have 
us  enjoy  such  sights  as  lift  our  thoughts  to  him,  and  intimate 
to  us  how  great  and  good  he  is,  and  what  charming  entertain- 
ments he  can  give  in  a  world  where  sin  mars  nothing. 

The  waters  of  "Old  Faithful"  issue  through  an  orifice,  six 
feet  long  by  two  feet  wide — its  throat,  into  which  we  looked 
after  it  ceased  to  belch  forth  the  hot  stream  at  two  hundred 
degrees  Fahrenheit.  If  there  be  a  breeze,  one  needs  to  ob- 
serve the  direction  of  it,  and  keep  on  the  side  the  wind  is 
from  to  escape  being  enveloped  in  steam  and  hot  water.  I 
was  caught  in  that  way  the  first  time  I  approached  the 


-  5o  - 

*  'Fountain"  geyser.  I  soon  beat  a  retreat  and  was  careful 
afterwards.  We  stood  very  close  to"  Old  Faithful"  during 
two  exhibitions.  A  third  time  we  stood  three  or  four  rods 
away.  A  fourth  view  I  had  all  to  myself  some  eighty  rods 
distant,  just  before  leaving  this  interesting  locality.  It  was  a 
parting  salute  I  greatly  prized. 

"  Old  Faithful's"  predecessor  stands  a  few  rods  from  him, 
witli  his  mound  as  a  great  tomb  with  orifices  yet,  through 
which  we  distinctly  heard  his  doleful  bemoanings  that  he 
could  be  active  no  longer.  In  his  days  of  active  service 
doubtless  the  only  visitors  he  had  were  wild  animals  of  the 
lonely  mountain  heights — for  methinks  it  was  in  the  days  be- 
fore even  the  red  men  of  the  forest  wandered  there;  and 
they  are  said  to  be  exceedingly  superstitious  in  regard  to  the 
geysers  and  will  not  approach  them,  declaring  the  Spirit  of 
Evil  presides  over  these  amazing  manifestations. 

This  Upper  Geyser  Basin  has  more  geysers  than  any  other 
locality  in  the  park.  They  are  named  generally  from  some 
peculiarity  in  formation  or  of  action.  Some  of  the  names  are 
as  follows:  "The  Constant,"  "  The  Twins,"  The  Triplets,'' 
"The  Minute-man,"  "The  Oblong,"  with  four  eruptions 
daily;  "The  Bee-hive,"  "The  Sponge/'  "Castle,"  "Mon- 
arch," "Splendid,"  "Giant,"  "Giantess  and  Cubs,"  "Grot- 
to," "Grand"  and  "Riverside."  "The  Chinaman"  is  a 
geyser  playing  from  a  great  wash-bowl  in  which  clothes  can 
be  washed. 


—  51  - 

One  morning  it  was  found  that  a  chip  had  been  taken 
from  "The  Sponge"  geyser.  On  inquiry  it  was  learned  a 
man  at  the  hotel  had  been  up  before  day.  His  trunk  was 
searched  and  the  missing  chip  was  found  in  it,  and  the  man 
was  taken  in  charge  by  the  soldiers  and  marched  out  of  the 
park  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.  The  park  is  under  military 
rule.  Soldiers  follow  visitors,  keeping  in  sight  all  the  time 
when  near  beautiful  "  forma'aons "  to  protect  them  from 
vandalism. 

On  our  way  back  from  the  upper  basin  we  got  out  of  the 
stage  coach  to  view  again  the  "Excelsior"  on  the  bank  of 
Firehole  river.  Its  basin  is  an  immense  pit  of  irregular  out- 
line, 350x200  feet,  containing  water  of  a  deep  blue  tint,  in- 
tensely agitated,  all  the  time  boiling,  and  with  dense  clouds 
of  vapor  arising  from  it.  Its  walls  are  perpendicular,  cliff- 
like,  overhanging  on  three  sides,  fifteen  feet  to  the  boiling 
water.  We  stood  on  its  wall  and  gazed  into  the  most  horrid 
looking  pit  we  had  ever  conceived  possible  on  this  earth. 
No  wonder  it  is  called  "  Hell's  Half- Acre."  For  three  years 
it  boils  and  steams  and  seethes,  and  in  the  fourth  year  shows 
ittelf  to  be  the  most  stupendous  geyser  in  existence.  Colonel 
Norris  tells  us  he  heard  it  spouting  six  miles  distant.  It 
causes  the  earth  near  by  to  tremble  and  rumble,  and  fills  the 
valley  with  dense  vapor.  It  throws  rocks  weighing  a  ton, 
and  water  in  such  quantities  as  to  raise  the  river  one  foot  in 
height  where  it  is  nearly  one  hundred  yards  wide.  It  sends 


-  52  - 

away  a  torrent  of  foaming,  steaming  hot  water  and  hurls 
rocks  over  surrounding  acres.  It  is  active  tur  the  greater 
part  of  every  fourth  year,  giving  two  or  more  displays  daily, 
sending  forth  a  compact  body  of  water  from  sixty  to  seventy- 
five  feet  in  diameter.  Here  is  a  good-sized  river  shot  straight 
into  the  air  some  three  hundred  feet  in  height.  Niagara 
Falls  is  considered  quite  a  sight.  But  there  the  river  falls 
doum  150  feet.  Here  it  is  shot  up  three  hundred  feet,  boiling 
hot,  with  rocks  thrown  for  variety.  To  stand,  as  we  did.  at 
the  verge  of  this  steaming  lake,  upon  the  hollow  crust  which 
projects  over  the  boiling  gulf,  and  peer  down  upon  the  agi- 
tated surface  as  clouds  of  scalding  vapor  arise,  is  awe- 
inspiring.  When  the  geyser  is  in  action,  the  terrific  con- 
cussion produced  by  falling  water,  accompanied  by  rumblings 
like  those  of  an  earthquake,  together  with  its  disagreeable 
habit  of  vomiting  rocks  of  various  sizes,  as  if  shot  from  an 
immense  cannon,  warns  visitors  it  is  safer  to  keep  at  a  re- 
spectful distance  during  one  of  its  exhibitions  of  terrific 
power. 


53  — 


XII. 
SABBATH  IN  THE  PARK. 

Soon  after  entering  Yellowstone  Park  we  learned  there 
was  no  arrangement  for  stopping  over  Sabbath.  I  went  to 
the  master  of  transportation  and  told  him  I  did  not  wish  to 
travel  on  the  Sabbath.  He  replied  that  they  had  no  Sab- 
bath there,  but  if  I  would  get  up  a  stage-load  of  the  same 
mind  as  myself,  we  could  have  command  of  the  stage,  and 
our  stage  could  stop  over  Sabbath.  I  soon  found  a  stage- 
load  of  my  way  of  thinking,  and  on  Saturday  evening  we  put 
up  at  the  Fountain  hotel.  On  Sabbath  morning  I  found 
quite  a  goodly  number  who  revered  the  sacred  day  and  were 
going  to  spend  it  quietly.  Among  them  I  found  two  physi- 
cians, Presbyterian  elders,  and  their  wives,  from  Western 
Pennsylvania,  and  several  more  from  the  same  region;  a 
Presbyterian  minister  and  his  wife  from  New  York,  and  quite 
a.  number  of  others.  One  of  the  elders  insisted  that  I  must 
preach  there  that  day.  I  insisted  on  the  other  minister 
preaching,  but  they  overruled  me.  I  then  made  inquiries 
for  a  place  where  we  could  assemble,  and  the  use  of  the  parlor 
was  given  us.  I  ask  for  a  bible,  and  the  hotel  manager  said 
they  had  none.  I  got  one  out  of  my  satchel  and  inquired 


—  54  - 

for  a  hymn-book,  but  none  could  be  found.  One  of  the 
ladies  of  our  company  agreed  to  assist  in  singing. 

The  soldiers  of  the  camp  nearby  came  in,  dressed  in  their 
best  suits  of  uniform.  The  hotel  people  came  in,  our  tour- 
ists assembled,  and  we  had  a  very  interesting  congregation. 
The  ministerial  brother  from  New  York  conducted  the  intro- 
ductory services.  We  joined  in  singing  the  doxology,  and 
after  reading  and  prayer  all  engaged  in  singing  "  Nearer  My 
God  to  Thee."  Then  for  half  an  hour  I  preached  to  a  most 
attentive  audience.  The  surroundings  were  inspiring.  We 
were  on  top  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  higher  far  than  Moses 
was  when  on  Sinai's  top  he  received  the  law  and  communed 
with  God.  No  human  abode  was  near  us.  A  little  company 
there  alone  with  God  on  the  silent  heights.  God's  wondrous 
power  seemed  visible  in  the  rearing  of  those  mountains  and 
in  the  playing  of  those  amazing  fountains,  almost  in  full 
view  of  where  we  were  worshiping.  The  day  was  all  we 
could  ask.  Bright  sunshine  was  flooding  the  sacred  scene. 
We  felt  that  God  was  there.  I  announced  a  text  and  it 
preached  itself.  I  felt  I  was  only  an  instrument  through 
which  God  was  speaking  to  that  little  congregation.  But 
rarely,  if  ever,  have  I  enjoyed  a  service  more  in  all  my  min- 
istry. The  audience  seemed  in  full  sympathy.  The  brother 
from  New  York  followed  with  excellent  remarks.  After 
prayer  we  united  in  singing  "Blest  be  the  Tie  that  Binds." 

It  was  a  service  we  can  never  forget.     They  told  us  it  was 


-  55  — 

a  very  unusual  occurrence  in  that  place.  The  soldiers  seemed 
greatly  to  enjoy  it.  I  had  long,  close  religious  conversa- 
tions with  some  of  them  that  evening.  They  seemed  hungry 
for  such  interviews.  Their  religious  privileges  are  very  few 
indeed.  Satan  has  his  missionaries  there.  Intoxicating 
liquor,  I  was  told,  was  secretly  taken  into  the  park,  and 
other  evil  influences  are  there.  I  have  no  doubt  but  we  had 
a  much  happier  Sabbath  at  that  quiet  Fountain  hotel  than 
they  had  who  left  in  stage  coaches  that  morning  to  travel  dur- 
ing the  sacred  hours.  I  was  told  of  one  gentleman  who 
had  control  of  a  conveyance  and  had  intended  to  stop  over 
till  Monday,  but  yielded  to  the  persuasions  of  a  lady  in  the 
company  and  went  on.  Some  who  observe  the  Lord's  day 
at  home  seem  to  think  the  Fourth  Commandment  is  not  bind- 
ing when  they  are  on  a  journey.  Some  of  Eve's  daughters 
resemble  their  mother,  and  some  of  Adam's  sons  yield  to 
their  influence,  and  sin  as  did  their  first  father  There  is  a 
growing  tendency  to  desecrate  the  hallowed  hours  of  God's 
precious  day  even  among  good  people. 

CAUSES    OF   THE    GEYSERS. 

I've  been  repeatedly  asked  for  an  explanation  of  the  peri- 
odic geyser  display.  I  will  simply  give  that  of  Professor  Bun- 
sen,  endorsed  by  Professor  Tyndall  and  other  eminent  men 
of  science,  ist.  The  presence  of  igneous  rocks  still  retaining 
their  heat  far  below  the  surface  of  the  earth.  2d.  Water 


-  56  - 

(supplied  mainly  by  snow  and  rain)  having  access  to  these 
heated  rocks.  3d.  Natural  tubes  by  which  the  heated  water 
may  reach  the  surface  of  the  earth.  The  tubes  are  filled  with 
water  from  lateral  drainage.  The  mountains  there  are  on 
an  average  of  seven  thousand  feet  above  sea-level ;  the  ig- 
neous rocks  are  certainly  as  deep  at  least  as  sea-level,  per- 
haps much  deeper.  The  presure  of  a  column  of  water  in 
one  of  these  tubes  from  which  the  geysers  spout  must  be 
exceedingly  great,  putting  the  boiling  point  much  above  that 
at  the  surface.  It  can  not  boil,  it  can  not  create  a  geyser 
till  the  heat  has  reached  a  certain  point.  When  that  is 
reached  there  is  a  boiling-over — there  is  an  explosion,  and  it 
continues  till  the  heat  is  relieved  and  then  it  ceases  till  there 
is  sufficient  accumulation  for  another  explosion.  Such  is 
Professor  Bunsen's  theory.  It  seems  to  explain  the  facts. 
Before  leaving  the  park  we  must  take  a  look  at  the  Grand 
Prismatic  Spring  or  Pool  whose  dimensions  are  350  feet  by 
250  feet.  The  water  is  of  a  deep  blue,  changing  to  "green 
toward  the  edge.  Gazing  into  this  pool  we  saw  the  most  beau- 
tiful prisms,  apparently  cubes  of  about  one  inch  and  a  half  in 
size,  showing  the  colors  of  the  rainbow,  in  a  soft  brilliancy 

• 

that  was  charming.  I  felt  chained  to  the  spot,  and  I  forced 
myself  away  only  after  all  my  traveling  companions  had 
gone.  I  feast  on  that  picture  yet  and  cannot  forget  it  while 
memory  lasts.  It  seems  too  beautiful  for  earth,  and  points 
perhaps  to  the  better  land  where  beauty  reigns  supreme. 


-  57  - 

It  was  with  peculiar  feelings  our  little  company  stood 
around  the  "  Fountain  "  geyser  the  last  evening  before  leaving, 
and  for  half  an  hour  watched  its  resplendent  playing  in 
cloudless  grandeur.  It  was  calm,  and  the  sunshine  was  warm 
enough  to  prevent  the  formation  of  mist.  We  approached 
very  near  the  column  of  ascending  water,  and  that  one  sight 
repaid  us  for  all  the  visit  to  the  park  had  cost  us.  I  slept 
that  night,  June  i3th,  with  a  snow  bank  three  feet  deep 
just  outside  my  bed  room  window,  and  outside  the  dining- 
room  there  was  a  pyramid  of  snow  eight  feet  high.  They 
told  us  the  snow  was  five  feet  deep  in  the  stage  road  to  Yel- 
lowstone Lake,  so  they  could  not  take  us  there.  But  we 
were  not  sorry  for  we  saw  lakes  enough  elsewhere. 

We  traveled  in  a  stage-coach  all  day  Tuesday  till  five 
o'clock,  when  we  reached  the  Mammoth  Hot  Springs  Hotel 
in  good  time  to  miss  the  stage  going  to  the  train.  It  had 
gone  one  hour  before  our  arrival.  We  learned  it  was  so  or- 
dered by  the  transportation  company,  as  one  of  the  tourists 
told  us  he  tried  to  hire  the  driver  to  arrive  in  time,  and  he 
said  the  driver  told  him  he  should  lose  his  place  if  he  did.  So 
we  spent  another  day  and  paid  $4  apiece  for  board  and  lodg- 
ing. We  wandered  over  the  heights,  examining  the  forma- 
tion, and  looking  at  beaver,  bear,  antilope,  elk,  porcupine, 
etc.,  caught  in  the  park,  to  be  sent  on  to  Washington  for  ex- 
hibition. No  shooting  is  permitted  in  the  park.  Brown 


-  58  - 

bears  come  up  in  the  forest  near  the  hotel  and  eat  food  car- 
ried out  for  them. 

I  would  advise  my  friends  to  visit  the  park  the  last  of 
July  or  first  of  August,  as  at  that  time  the  snow  may  not  be 
quite  so  deep  on  the  mountain  top.  We  headed  a  petition, 
prepared  in  a  blank-book,  to  be  signed  by  visitors,  asking 
Congress  to  authorize  the  building  of  an  electric  railway 
through  the  park.  Such  a  road  would  greatly  facilitate 
travel,  save  labor,  time  and  expense  in  the  visit. 


—  59  — 


XIII 

While  we  stand  looking  at  these  mountain  tops  and 
heights  of  grandeur,  some  one  of  a  utilitarian  cast  of  mind 
asks :  What  were  they  made  for?  Of  what  use  are  they? 
Well,  their  uses  are  various. 

ist.  They  are  sources  of  water  supply.  Yonder  peak  of 
everlasting  snow,  covered  to  depths  that  have  never  been 
measured — certainly  a  mile  of  frozen  snow  if  perpendicularly 
measured  at  the  melting  line — forms  a  perpetual  supply  of 
water,  a  never-failing  fountain,  and  at  such  heights  tremen- 
dous hydrostatic  pressure  is  furnished  for  natural  hydraulics 
on  a  very  extended  scale.  Through  underground  channels 
pure,  cold,  limpid  waters  flow  for  many  hundreds  of  miles, 
and  rush  forth  in  powerful  springs  that  never  fail. 

But  for  these  mountain  reservoirs  Florida  perhaps  could 
not  have  her  wonderful  mammoth  springs,  that  prove  a  very 
interesting  study  and  are  visited  by  thousands  of  tourists. 
One  of  these  springs  furnishes  a  stream  so  strong  a  steamboat 
goes  on  its  waters  up  to  the  very  fountain  whence  the  river 
issues.  This  is  only  one  of  many  wondrous  springs,  of  such 
amazing  volume  as  to  prove  the  source  must  be  some  such 
abundant  supply  as  we  have  described  from  those  mountain 
tops.  There  are  no  mountains  anywhere  near  Florida  to  fur- 


—   60  — 

nish  such  a  water  supply.  Chemists  who  have  examined  the 
waters  of  this  peninsula  say  it  is  similar  to  that  found  in  the 
Rocky  Mountain  region  of  the  far-away  northwest.  It  looks 
as  though  the  southeast  gets  its  water  supply  from  the  north 
west.  This  great  country  seems  mutually  dependent,  one 
part  on  the  other. 

2.  These  mountains  are  regulators  of  climate  They 
prevent  stagnation  in  the  atmosphere,  and  make  North 
America  very  different  from  the  continent  of  Africa,  and  from 
India  south  of  the  Himalayas,  whose  range  runs  chiefly  east 
and  west,  and  so  cuts  off  the  cooling  winds  from  the  north. 
Our  mountain  ranges,  running  north  and  south,  are  an  incal- 
culable blessing  to  our  climate  in  the  matterof  health  and 
comfort.  The  physical  geography  of  a  country  has  much  to 
do  with  the  character  of  its  people. 

3d.  These  mountains  are  vast  treasuries  of  valuable  min- 
erals and  precious  metals,  and  furnish  material  for  wealth 
that  cannot  be  estimated. 

4th.  They  are  educators  of  the  sublime.  No  one  who  has 
taken  in  those  inspiring  sights,  that  fill  the  soul  with  awe  and 
bring  him  into  touch  with  the  great  Invisible,  can  ever 
wholly  forget  them,  or  be  just  what  he  was  before.  Those 
peaks  of  grandeur,  towering  beneath  the  stars,  are  great 
object  lessons  of  the  all-wise,  omnipotent  Creator. 

On  Wednesday,  June  i5th,  we  took  the  stage-coach  and 
rode  eight  miles  to  Cinnabar,  at  the  gateway  of  the  park, 


—  61   - 

where  we  took  the  train  and  enjoyed  the  scenery  of  the  canon 
all  the  way  to  Livingstone.  The  Gardner  River  tumbles  hur- 
riedly down  by  our  track  to  join  the  Yellowstone.  Here, 
right  by  our  train,  towers  a  crag,  on  top  of  which  an  eagle 
has  her  nest.  "The  Devil's  Slide,"  on  the  opposite  side, 
rises  in  a  regular  slope  to  heights  that  would  delight  a 
vigorous  youth  to  climb. 

Soon  we  emerge  from  our  canon,  and  are  on  the  main 
line  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  1048  miles  from  Port- 
land and  1007  from  St.  Paul.  The  vastness  of  our  country 
can  not  be  taken  in  till  we  travel  over  it.  Our  PuJman  car 
stood  waiting  for  us  on  the  side-track,  and  we  were  soon  fast 
asleep.  When  we  rose  next  morning  we  found  ourselves 
still  amid  the  mountains,  with  the  Yellowstone  flowing  rap- 
idly at  our  side.  We  followed  its  course  for  about  340  miles. 
At  Glendive  it  left  us  to  join  the  Missouri,  and  we  felt  we 
had  parted  with  a  familiar  friend. 

At  Livingstone  we  had  been  told  of  immense  bowlders, 
clinging  by  uncertain  tenure  to  cliffs,  at  inaccessible  heights 
overhanging  the  railroad  track,  liable  to  fall  on  us  as  we  pass 
by.  But  the  same  kind  Providence  brought  us  safely  all 
the  way,  and  we  came  on,  enjoying  the  scenery  of  that  wild, 
romantic,  historic  region,  past  Park  City,  Pompey's  Pillar 
and  Custer,  from  whence  the  lamented  general  of  that  name 
took  his  last  departure  before  meeting  death  by  the  Indians. 

Sentinel  Butte  and  Pyramid  Park  are  most  interesting  ; 


—    62    — 

there  nature  revels  in  a  magnificient  park  of  pyramids  of 
every  variety.  Some  run  up  as  needles,  tall  and  slender ; 
others  stand  as  towers  of  regular  geometrical  contour.  Some 
are  after  the  pattern  of  the  great  Pyramid  of  Gezeh,  in 
Egypt ;  others  quite  diminutive.  Nature  loves  variety,  and 
has  shown  her  taste  in  this  uninhabited  city.  These,  as  seen 
from  the  train,  appear  to  be  earthworks,  having  the  appear- 
ance of  water  formation,  well  rounded,  the  line  of  beauty 
evidently  being  used  in  their  construction.  Nearly  all  these 
wonderful  structures  were  painted  in  choice  emerald,  and  the 
valleys  between  were  neatly  carpeted  with  the  same.  The 
picture  was  most  beauteous  to  behold,  all  blended  in  perfect 
harmony.  I  would  gladly  have  stopped  off  and  wandered 
long  in  that  secluded,  lovely  paradise. 

Strange  scenes  of  unusual  beauty  these,  treeless  but  by 
no  means  unadorned.  Picturesque  they  surely  are.  Mem- 
ory loves  to  linger  there.  One  might  suppose  these  treeless 
stretches  were  sterile,  but  we  were  told  that  not  even  the  val- 
ley of  the  Nile  possessed  such  fertility.  Like  the  rolling 
Pampas  of  South  America,  these  prairies,  carpeted  with  the 
most  nutritious  of  native  grasses,  were,  till  lately,  the  home 
of  the  roving  bison,  as  countless  as  the  yellow  daisies  that 
nodded  in  the  breeze. 

Still  on  and  on  our  faithful  train  steadily  goes,  by  the 
headwaters  of  the  Red  River  of  the  North  and  through  the 
vast  Dalrymple  wheat  farm,  where  farming  is  done  on  a  scale 


-  63  - 

of  magnificence  that  excites  admiration.  Fargo  and  Bis- 
mark  attracted  attention.  The  huge  steel  bridge  over  the 
Missouri  River,  costing  upward  of  a  million  dollars,  is  a  fine 
piece  of  engineering  skill.  Remains  of  a  pre-historic  race  are 
found  on  the  high,  rolling  bluffs  south  of  Mandan,  on  the 
west  side  of  the  river.  On  we  go,  till  we  find  we  are  ap- 
proaching St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis,  and  a  home-like  feeling 
possesses  us,  as  though  we  were  coming  back  to  where  we 
had  been  before. 

Then  the  good-byes  began  with  our  charming  traveling 
companions.  Some  of  us  had  been  in  company  ill  the  Pull- 
man car  since  leaving  Tacoma.  We  had  occupied  the  same 
stage-coach  in  the  Yellowstone  Park,  had  stood  together 
and  gazed  at  the  wondrous  geysers,  and  were  in  sympathy 
with  nature  in  her  wildest  moods.  From  the  East  and  West, 
North  and  South,  we  had,  in  our  pleasant  car,  compared 
notes  and  found  much  in  taste  and  sympathy  congenial. 
For  our  company  to  separate  was  akin  to  the  parting  of  a 
pleasant  family.  The  good-byes  were  warmly  spoken,  and 
many  a  kind  wish  expressed,  and  soon  the  twin  cities  were 
reached  and  we  saw  our  friends  of  the  Northern  Pacific  no 
more,  but  pleasant  memories  linger  ever. 

We  crossed  the  Mississippi  River  immediately  below  the 
Falls  of  St.  Anthony  that  were.  They  are  now  only  rapids, 
sliding  furiously  down  a  great  apron,  placed  under  the  waters 
of  the  river  to  keep  them  from  wearing  the  bed  of  the  stream 


-  64  - 

from  the  height  over  which  once  they  plunged.  Grandeur 
has  been  sacrificed  to  utility.  Water-power  thus  preserved  is 
one  of  the  chief  sources  of  prosperity  to  the  city.  These 
twin  giants  of  the  North  are  vigorous  in  their  youth,  and 
buoyant  with  the  hope  of  a  noble  manhood  in  the  coming 
years. 

Now,  methinks,  surely  is  one  of  the  most  desirable  times 
to  live  of  all  periods  of  the  world's  history  up  to  date.  It  is 
undoubtedly  a  time  of  grand  opportunity.  I'm  glad  Ldid  not 
come  into  the  world  any  earlier. 


XIV. 

While  waiting  for  a  short  time  at  St.  Paul,  some  one 
wishes  to  know  in  detail  as  to  certain  localities  we've  passed 
over.  For  instance,  what  is  there  in  the  scenery  on  the 
Columbia  river  that  makes  it  charming  ?  Well,  from  the  hurri- 
cane deck  of  our  steamer,  on  excursion  day,  the  panorama 
we  took  in  included  mountains  standing  as  a  wall,  grouped 
in  some  localities  like  a  vast  amphitheatre.  Soon  the  scenery 
changed,  presenting  pictures  of  romantic  grandeur  and  wild- 
ness.  Yonder  a  stream,  from  heights  sublime,  on  the  Colum- 
bia's banks,  plunges  perpendicularly  down  a  distance  of  850 
feet,  striking  only  once  or  twice  while  taking  the  fearful  leap. 
And  here  in  the  foreground  stand  the  "  Pillars  of  Hercules," 
two  immense  columns  of  rock,  hundreds  of  feet  in  height. 
Not  far  away,  ' '  Rooster  Rock  "  rises  out  of  the  river.  ' '  Castle 
Rock "  proudly  rears  its  lofty  head  more  than  a  thousand 
feet  in  stately  grandeur.  Cape  Horn  shows  a  menacing  pre- 
cipice abruptly  ascending  from  the  water,  over  two  hundred 
feet  above  us.  So  passes  the  changing  scene  of  terraced 
heights,  abrupt  cliffs,  crags  in  curious  shapes  and  mountain 
rising  still  above  mountain,  and  over  all  towers  Mt.  Hood  in 
serene  majesty.  But  we  must  come  on  to  other  scenes,  not 
so  sublime  yet  no  less  interesting. 


—  66  — 

From  the  capital  of  Minnesota  we  traveled  directly  to  the 
•capital  of  Iowa,  sitting  right  royally  on  the  east  and  west 
banks  of  the  Des  Moines  river.  From  afar  you  are  attracted 
by  the  shining  dome  of  the  capitol,  that  crowns  a  massive 
building,  well  constructed  after  a  model  that  charms  and 
pleases,  neatly  finished,  and  surrounded  by  grounds  laid  out 
with  taste  and  kept  in  good  order.  It  stands  aloft  on  Capitol 
Hill  and  commands  a  fine  view  of  the  city  and  country  for 
many  miles.  In  June  the  city  was  so  embowered  with  foliage 
that  it  could  be  seen  but  in  part.  Good  residences,  with  spa- 
cious grounds  about  them  adorned  with  shrubs,  trees  and 
flowers,  and  carpeted  with  well-kept  lawns,  and  fine  long 
avenues  running  far  out  on  gently  sloping  hills,  make  the 
city  of  Des  Moines  beautiful  and  desirable.  The  most  com- 
plete system  of  electric  cars  traverses  the  city  on  both  sides 
of  the  river,  furnishing  easy  and  rapid  transit  to  every  part. 
Tall,  substantial,  well-built  business  blocks  occupy  the  cen- 
tral division  of  the  city.  Business  activity  was  apparent 
everywhere.  Some  of  these  stately  business  houses  now 
stand  on  lots  formerly  occupied  by  liquor  saloons,  and 
proclaim  in  language  not  to  be  misunderstood,  that  a  city  can 
prosper  without  the  saloon.  Nine  years  before,  Des  Moines 
had  scarcely  thirty  thousand  inhabitants,  and  abounded  in 
licensed  institutions  for  supplying  the  people  with  that  which 
intoxicates.  A  distillery  too  was  then  deemed  an  auxiliary 
to  the  business  prosperity  of  the  city.  But  prohibition  was 


-  67  - 

declared  to  be  the  law  of  the  State,  the  distillery  and  saloons 
disappeared,  and  the  city  has  survived.  The  census  in 
1892  reports  sixty-eight  thousand  inhabitants,  more  than 
twice  the  number  that  lived  there  nine  years  before,  when  the 
prohibitory  law  took  affect.  On  Fair  days,  when  crowds  of 
people  congregate,  quietness,  order  and  sobriety  prevail, 
such  as  did  not  on  like  days  when  the  saloon  poisoned  the 
atmosphere.  Children  of  fathers,  once  drunkards,  are  no 
longer  pointed  at  as  drunkards'  children,  but  are  fed  and 
clothed  and  sent  to  school.  Boys  are  now  comparatively  free 
from  temptation  to  the  intoxicating  cup.  Though  there  may 
be  some  drinking  on  the  sly,  the  prohibitory  law  is  evidently 
as  well  maintained  in  that  city  as  other  good  laws.  Churches 
and  educational  institutions  abound  and  prosper.  We  found 
our  friends  doing  well  there,  contented  and  happy. 

Another  young  city,  forty-two  miles  further  on  to  the  south- 
west, has  attractions  for  us  and  we  pass  on.  Winterset,  "the 
Gem  of  the  Prairies,"  the  county  seat  of  Madison  county,  is 
a  place  we  can  not  pass  by.  There  we  received  a  greeting 
such  as  few  perhaps  know  except  pastors  who  return  after 
years  of  absence  to  a  kind  people  with  whom  many  years  had 
been  delightfully  spent.  Here  language  fails.  To  see  the 
faces  so  familiar,  and  feel  the  hearty  grasp  of  the  hand,  and 
look  into  the  eyes  of  a  host  of  those  tested  and  known  during 
years  of  pastoral  service  and  familiarity  in  times  of  joy  and 
sorrow,  is  a  privilege  above  all  estimate. 


—  68  — 

Twenty-two  years  ago  I  had  taken  charge  of  our  church 
there,  and  for  thirteen  years  had  ministered  to  those  people 
in  sacred  things.  Many  changes  had  taken  place,  but  the 
body  of  the  congregation  remained  as  it  was  nine  years 
before.  A  goodly  number  had  gone — some  to  the  better 
land.  The  marked  changes  were  in  the  boys  and  girls  and 
the  trees.  The  boys  and  girls  had  come  to  be  men  and 
women,  in  whom,  sometimes,  we  recognized  only  the  eye  of 
years  ago.  The  body  changes,  but  the  soul  that  looks  out 
through  the  eye  remains  essentially  the  same.  Shall  it  not 
be  so  when  we  meet  on  the  other  shore  and  friends  of  here 
shall  greet  each  other  there  ?  It  was  an  ovation  day  by  day 
while  nearly  a  month  of  days  passed  quickly  and  delightfully 
away.  It  was  a  joy  to  preach  again  to  those  dear  people. 
And  how  many  social  reunions  in  church  and  in  homes  and 
quiet  talks  in  little  nooks  where  scenes  of  other  days  p  issed 
in  review! 

The  town  is  still  in  good  condition.  Many  new  residences 
had  been  erected,  the  streets  were  beautiful  with  overhang- 
ing shade-trees,  and  the  yards  with  swards  of  green",  varie- 
gated with  flowers.  The  surrounding  country  was  in  its  mid- 
summer glory.  When  on  top  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  we 
longed  for  comfortable  warmth  a  few  days  before.  Now  we 
reveled  in  the  genial  sunshine  in  a  land  of  plenty,  in  homes 
of  joy,  with  friends  we  knew  full  well. 

To  see  the  children  of  former  years  now  active  leaders  in 


-  69  - 

church-work  made  our  hearts  throb  more  quickly,  and  we 
saw  that  the  God  of  the  covenant  was  true.  Those  dedicated 
to  God  in  years  gone  by  and  taught  the  way  of  the  Lord  are 
now  flourishing  as  palm-trees  in  the  house  of  the  Lord.  'Twas 
surely  pleasant  to  review  what  God  had  done.  But  we  had 
to  say  "  Good-bye  "  and  come  away.  We  hope  to  meet  again 
— meet  ne'er  to  sever. 

From  Winterset  and  the  capital  of  Iowa  we  came  to  the 
capital  of  Wisconsin,  that  sits  so  queenly  between  her  lakes, 
beautiful  for  situation,  the  joy  of  the  whole  State.  The  cen- 
tral object  is  the  capitol,  standing  proudly  apart  from  the  rest 
of  the  city,  in  a  spacious  campus  of  forest  trees,  on  rising 
ground  midway  between  Third  and  Fourth  Lake.  The 
streets  radiate  from  the  capitol.  About  one  mile  from  the 
capitol  stands  the  State  University.  The  grounds  are  ex- 
tensive and  well  cared  for,  and  the  buildings  are  numerous 
and  appropriate  to  the  purposes  intended.  The  museum 
well  repays  a  visit.  You  may  linger  long  and  be  deeply  in- 
terested. You  will  find  the  same  to  be  true  when  you  go  to 
the  Historical  rooms  of  the  capitol.  Do  not  be  in  a  hurry 
when  you  go,  for  you'll  be  sorry  to  tear  yourself  away. 

We  visited  the  city  at  the  time  of  the  annual  assembly  of 
the  Chautauqua,  and  took  it  in  quite  satisfactorily.  Many 
excellent  lecturers  were  there  and  spoke  to  the  edification  of 
large  and  attentive  audiences.  I  consider  such  assemblies 
fountains  of  blessing  mentally,  morally  and  religiously,  as 


-  70  - 

well  as  socially,  under  proper  management,  as  I  think  they 
usually  are.  The  day  that  drew  the  largest  number  of  people, 
perhaps  ten  thousand,  was  devoted  to  the  discussion  of  po- 
litical issues  by  three  prominent  political  speakers,  representing 
three  parties  The  Chautauqua  grounds  are  reached  by 
crossing  Third  Lake  in  steam  yachts.  The  grounds  are  ex- 
ceedingly beautiful.  Part  of  the  time  the  weather  was  ex- 
ceedingly hot  and  close,  notwithstanding  the  lakes  and 
prairies  adjacent. 

On  the  opposite  side  on  Fourth  Lake,  on  a  retired  bank 
rising  gradually  from  the  water,  stands  the  State  Asylum  for 
Insane,  which  we  visited.  The  location,  the  grounds,  the 
buildings  and  the  management,  impressed  us  as  about  as  near 
what  they  ought  to  be  as  anything  we  expect  to  find  in  this 
sinful,  imperfect  world.  Such  Christian  care  for  the  unfortu- 
nate we  find  only  in  Christian  countries. 

We  were  told  that  with  all  these  good  things  with  which 
the  city  of  Madison  is  blest,  the  influence  of  seventy-five 
saloons  rests  like  a  pall  of  evil  on  her.  During  the  last 
quarter  of  a  century  we  learned  she  had  increased  only  three 
thousand  in  the  number  of  her  inhabitants,  while  tee  capital 
of  Iowa  has  inci eased  nearly  forty  thousand,  much  more 
than  doubled  her  population — this  since  she  became  a  prohi- 
bition city.  Is  this  chance,  or  is  it  in  the  line  more  or  less 
of  cause  and  effect  ? 


XV 

From  the  capital  of  Wisconsin  and  her  lakes  of  beauty  we 
had  a  charming  ride  across  fertile  prairies,  yielding  golden 
harvests,  some  sixty  miles  east  to  Delafield  and  Ottawa, 
where  we  received  another  welcome  like  that  at  VVinterset. 
There  we  found  a  goodly  number  of  parishioners  of  a  quarter 
of  a  century  ago,  where  we  had  spent  some  years  in  pastoral 
service,  recuperating  after  seven  years'  pastorate  in  the  city  of 
Baltimore.  There  we  were  met  by  friends  as  true,  with  hearts 
as  warm,  as  can  be  found  in  this  world.  These  precious 
jewels,  how  we  prize  them  !  We  think  more  highly  of  hu- 
manity when  we  find  how  good  and  pure  and  true  many  of 
the  race  of  man  really  prove  themselves  to  be.  What  cor- 
dial greetings  !  What  kindness !  How  pleasant  to  recount 
scenes  of  days  long  gone  by,  and  look  into  the  eye  beaming 
with  goodness ! 

The  years  had  made  changes.  The  country  was  beautiful 
in  former  years,  but  more  beautiful  now.  Villages  and  coun- 
try homes  had  been  built,  shade  trees  had  grown,  and  much 
adornment  had  been  made.  The  whole  community  had  be- 
come a  favorite  resort  for  summer  visitors.  One  evil  the 
good  people  complained  of  was  the  desecration  of  the  sacred 
hours  of  the  Sabbath  by  the  great  majority  of  those  who 


—  72  — 

come  for  recreation.  It  has  a  demoralizing  effect  on  the  resi- 
dents. The  tendency  in  many  directions  now  is  to  banish  the 
hallowing  influence  of  God's  holy  day. 

We  could  not  stay  long,  so  bidding  good-bye  to  our  friends 
we  took  the  train  and  were  soon  brought  from  the  quiet, 
peaceful  homes  of  that  lovely  retreat  to  the  bustling,  busy, 
rushing  metropolis  that  stands  so  proudly  on  the  western  shore 
of  Lake  Michican.  The  contrast  was  most  striking.  We 
could  not  but  ask  ourselves  :  What  makes  the  people  all  wish 
to  live  so  close  together  ?  There  is  plenty  of  room  in  our 
great  country.  Why  insist  on  crowding,  so  as  to  destroy 
comfort,  safety  and  health?  "God  made  the  country,  man 
made  the  town."  "  God  made  man  upright,  but  he  has 
sought  out  many  inventions."  The  invention  of  city  building 
has  its  advantages,  no  doubt,  but  it  surely  has  many  evils. 
As  far  as  the  record  goes,  I  believe  it  was  the  man  that  killed 
his  brother  that  built  the  first  city.  I  have  wondered  some- 
times whether  he  would  have  gone  into  the  business  of  build- 
ing cities  if  he  had  not  killed  his  brother.  He  seemed  to  feel 
very  badly  and  be  anxious  for  something  to  occupy  his 
thoughts,  so  as  to  forget  what  he  had  done.  Evidently  he 
did  not  enjoy  being  alone  in  the  quiet  of  the  country  with  his 
own  recollections,  and  seemed  to  be  afraid  somebody  would 
kill  him,  so  he  wished  to  be  within  call  of  neighbors.  He 
went  out  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and  there  is  no  evi- 
dence that  he  ever  built  a  church  in  his  city. 


—  73  — 

Modern  cities  are  much  better,  morally  and  religiously, 
than  ancient  cities,  because  of  the  influence  of  the  gospel  in 
them.  The  churches  are  fountains  of  blessing.  But  for 
them  we  doubt  whether  some  of  our  cities  -would  be  much 
better  than  Sodom  and  Gomorrah.  The  ramified  influence 
of  the  churches,  with  all  that  belongs  to  them  and  issues  from 
them,  so  permeates  the  atmosphere  of  such  a  city  as  Chicago 
that  their  benediction  cannot  be  estimated.  This  city,  with 
its  fourteen  hundred  thousand  inhabitants,  claims  that  the 
next  decennial  census  will  show  New  York  to  be  the  second 
city  in  size  in  the  United  States.  Indeed  there  is  no  comfort 
now  in  driving  through  the  crowded  throughfares  of  this 
young  Western  giant.  They  say  it  is  twenty-five  miles  from 
the  north  to  the  south  boundary  of  the  city.  It  seemed  to  lake 
our  train  with  locomotive  about  half  an  hour  to  come  from 
the  depot  out  to  the  limits  where  the  houses  were  scarce. 
They  boast  of  their  twenty  storied  building. 

We  sauntered  through  the  Exposition  grounds  and  viewed 
the  buildings  where  the  world  is  to  show  what  it  can  do.  I  won- 
der if  somebody  will  not  be  saying,  "This  is  great  Babylon 
that  I  have  built !"  If  the  sacredness  of  the  Sabbath  is  to  be 
ignored  and  liquor  dealers  have  their  way,  I  fear  the  result. 
"The  heavens  do  rule"  and  God  will  not  be  mocked. 
"  Whatsoever  a"  nation  "soweth,  that  shall"  it  "also  reap." 

We  had  a  delightful  visit  with  kind  fiiends  in  the  city; 
also  in  that  charming  suburb,  "  Highland  Park"  on  the  bluff 


—   74  — 

of  Lake  Michigan,  a  quiet  resort  where  Chicago  people  have 
pleasant  homes. 

From  Chicago  we  came  to  the  "  Queen  City  of  the  West," 
that  peacefully  rests  on  the  northern  bank  of  the  Ohio. 
Coming  into  Cincinnati  from  Chicago  seems  like  going  from 
New  York  into  Boston,  or  into  Philadelphia  as  it  was  some 
years  ago.  There  is  some  comfort  in  getting  about  cities  of 
the  latter  class;  one  has  time  to  stop  and  think,  and  not  be 
carried  along  by  the  crowd.  He  can  get  a  seat  in  an  electric 
car  and  can  ride  without  holding  on  for  his  life,  as  in  Chicago 
cable  cars  sweeping  round  a  corner. 

Chicago's  parks  are  places  of  enchanting  loveliness,  and 
so  is  "  Eden  Park  "  on  Walnut  Hills,  Cincinnati.  We  spent 
delightful  days  with  friends  in  the  latter  city,  as  we  had  done 
in  Chicago. 

A  trip  up  the  Miami  valley  showed  us  it  had  lost  none  of 
its  beauty  or  fertility  for  which  it  was  famous  years  ago. 
Middletown  and  Franklin  have  spread  out  and  seem  well- 
nigh  like  taking  on  city  airs.  Their  paper  mills  have  greatly 
multiplied  and  business  prospers.  Their  churches  have  so 
grown  as  to  demand  new  and  more  stately  edifices.  Leba- 
non moves  on  in  the  even  tenor  of  her  way,  dignified,  aris- 
tocratic, with  educational  attractions  that  draw  hundreds  of 
young  people  to  her  far-famed  institution.  Oxford,  as  of 
yore,  stands  a  city  on  a  hill,  crowned  with  her  university  and 


—  75  — 

seminaries,  of  which  she  is  justly  proud.  Ohio  is  a  grand 
old  State,  and  the  Miami  valley  is  the  garden  of  it. 

Our  visit  to  that  region  brought  back  days  of  former 
years,  and  memory  was  busy  with  associations  most  sacred. 
The  tablets  of  memory  have  many  records  that  are  inefface- 
able. How  we  love  to  read  them  !  How  interesting  when 
the  books  shall  be  opened  in  the  great  hereafter!  Nearly 
thirty  five  years  ago,  in  the  days  of  our  youthful  ministry, 
we  had  charge  of  a  church  in  this  beautiful,  fruitful  valley. 
It  was  before  the  war.  Times  and  homes  and  people  have 
greatly  changed  since  then.  But  few  remain  to  whom  we 
ministered  there.  To  recall  these  scenes  brings  solemn 
thoughts  to  mind.  Busy,  happy  years  have  passed  'tween 
then  and  now.  We've  no  wish  to  live  them  over.  A  kind, 
gentle  handjias  led  us,  and  we  bless  our  Leader. 

From  Cincinnati  we  dropped  south  to  Chattanooga,  Ten- 
nessee, and  spent  ten  days  'mid  scenes  of  historic  interest. 
On  the  crest  of  the  "  Missionary  Ridge,"  a  friend  living 
there  showed  me  in  his  yard  a  spot  of  mortal  combat;  two 
trees  stand  as  sentinels  to  guard  the  sacred  place  where 
rest  the  bodies  of  some  that  fell  there  and  were  buried. 
Stone  breast-works  still  remain  as  in  the  day  of  battle.  I 
stood  on  a  spot  where  two  brave  men  in  single  contest  met, 
and  neither  would  yield  till  one  fell  mortally  wounded.  A 
soldier  returned  years  afterwards  and  located  the  position 
where  he  was  captured.  His  captor  came  at  another  time, 


-  76  - 

and  without  knowing  what  the  other  had  said,  showed  where 
he  had  taken  his  prisoner.  Each  told  his  story  to  my  friend 
now  living  there. 

As  I  was  slowly  walking  over  the  battle-field,  I  saw  two 
men  who  seemed  to  be  looking  for  something.  When  I  came 
up  I  found  they  were  Confederate  soldiers  who  had  been  in 
the  battle.  They  were  from  a  distance,  and  were  now  look- 
ing for  relics  on  that  interesting  field.  One  of  them  asked  if  I 
could  tell  him  where  that  house  had  stood  a  little  below  us, 
where  the  Federal  sharpshooters  were  concealed  and  were 
picking  off  their  gunners.  He  was  one  of  the  gunners.  He 
went  down  and  burned  the  house,  and  so  dislodged  the  sharp- 
shooters. Now  he  would  like  to  find  the  location  of  the 
house.  I  did  not  find  the  place  where  the  house  he  burned 
had  stood,  but  I  did  ascertain  where  his  battery  was  located 
and  told  him,  which  seemed  to  be  a  satisfaction  to  him. 


—  77  — 


XVI. 

There  are  some  localities  that  seem  burdened  with  sacred 
memories,  the  mention  of  which  starts  a  stream  of  thought 
freighted  with  treasure. 

When  a  few  years  since  we  stood  on  the  "Plains  of 
Abraham  "  at  Quebec,  and  walked  around  the  monument  of 
General  Wolfe,  on  the  spot  where  that  noble  rmn  fell,  mem- 
ory was  busy  with  the  past.  "  I  die  content,"  said  he,  when 
he  learned  that  the  French  were  flying.  As  I  thought  of  the 
results  of  the  victory  of  that  memorable  day,  giving  vantage 
ground  to  protestants  on  this  continent  that  has  never  been 
lost,  I  seemed  to  be  standing  on  holy  ground.  I  love  to  think 
of  this  mighty  nation,  which  acts  as  a  balance  to  the  rest  of 
the  inhabited  planet,  coming  on  the  stage  on  that  eventful 
epoch.  From  that  victory  onward  it  was  a  possibility;  a 
foothold  and  protection  was  secured  for  those  who  believed 
in  freedom  in  the  exercise  of  conscientious  convictions. 

Battle-fields,  where  earnest  men  with  honest  purposes  con- 
tended unto  death  for  principles  that  to  them  were  more  sac- 
red than  life,  can  not  be  uninteresting  to  thoughtful  people. 
Such  thoughts  possessed  me  as  I  wandered  over  the  fields  of 
conflict  about  Chattanooga.  One  place  of  intense  interest 
pointed  out  to  us  Avas  General  Grant's  headquarters,  from 


-78— 

which  he  surveyed  the  situation  and  commanded  the  mighty 
forces  under  his  control.  One  there  can  learn  something  of 
how  much  depends  on  the  skillful  locating  of  the  different 
wings  of  an  army,  taking  advantage  of  mountain  and  plain, 
ravine  and  river,  day  and  night,  and  the  proper  moment  of 
time  to  move.  Over  and  through  and  behind  all  we  can 
plainly  see  a  superintending  Providence,  without  whose  or- 
dering the  best  laid  human  plans  utterly  fail.  The  counsel 
of  Ahithophel  will  surely  be  defeated  if  He  who  rules  in 
righteousness  so  orders. 

I  spent  days  amid  those  historic  scenes,  thinking  over  the 
past  and  seeing,  as  I  had  not  before,  much  as  to  how  those  con- 
tending forces  were  managed  on  those  grounds  now  sacred 
to  memory.  "Chattanooga,"  "  Chickamauga,"  "Mission- 
ary Ridge  "  and  "  Lookout  Mountain"  are  suggestive  names. 
On  to  Atlanta  the  armies  marched  and  fiercely  contended  all 
about  that  city,  making  it  historic.  And  "from  Atlanta  to 
the  sea"  Sherman  led  his  men,  the  North  knowing  not  where 
he  was  till  the  Confederacy  was  cut  in  two.  Great  principles 
were  contended  for  and  victory  was  slowly  and  surely  com- 
ing. The  final  surrender  was  being  made  possible  at  Appo- 
mattox. 

So  methinks  it  is  in  the  conflicts  with  moral  forces  and  in 
the  continuous  struggle  for  God  and  the  right.  The  true  and 
the  brave  that  fall  in  times  of  temporary  defeat  are  to  be 
honored  equally  with  those  who  shall  be  present  at  the  final 


—  79  - 

victory,  and  those  Qn  guard  or  in  out-of-the-way  places  who 
did  faithful  service  and  endured  patiently  and  waited  un- 
repiningly,  without  the  inspiration  of  numbers,  deserve  re- 
cognition as  well  as  those  in  more  prominent  positions.  But 
for  the  former  the  latter  could  not  have  accomplished  their 
mission.  Each  are  only  various  parts  of  the  one  great  army 
under  the  one  Commander  in  the  one  grand  cause  of  God. 

We  spent  some  time  in  wandering  through  that  interesting 
city  of  the  dead,  the  National  Cemetery  near  Chattanooga. 
The  grounds  are  surely  of  wondorous  beauty  and  adaptability 
for  the  purpose.  In  a  valley,  accessible,  yet  sufficiently  re- 
tired, gently  rolling  grounds  nicely  kept,  there  he  the  remains 
of  the  mortal  part  of  thousands  of  our  country's  defenders. 
A  single  white  stone  marks  the  graves  of  four  thousand  un- 
known soldiers.  Here  are  memorials  of  a  conflict  that  devel- 
oped mutual  self-respect  in  the  practical  acquaintance  made 
in  a  terrible  way.  Each  knows  the  other  can  not  be  trifled 
with,  and  perhaps  we  have  learned  enough  of  mutual  for- 
bearance and  national  patriotism  to  make  our  nation  great 
and  strong. 

Yonder,  towering  as  a  sentinel  of  grandeur  far  above  us, 
stands  Lookout  Mountain.  It  rises  with  precipitous  sides 
some  sixteen  hundred  feet  above  the  Tennessee  River,  which 
sweeps  in  graceful  curves  through  the  plain  at  the  base  of  the 
mountain.  It  well  repays  one  to  ascend  that  lofty  peak. 
We  took  the  cable  car  up  the  incline,  and  from  our  seat  at 


—  8o  — 

the  rear  of  the  car  we  looked  out  at  Missionary  Ridge,  which 
from  the  valley  looked  like  quite  a  mountain.  But  as  our  rar 
rose  on  the  side  of  Lookout,  the  ridge  gradually  seemed  to  melt 
away  and  minify  till  it  resembled  a  plain,  and  no  longer  ob- 
structed our  view.  Soon  we  looked  over  and  far  beyond  it 
and  enjoyed  a  panorama  that  was  certainly  charming.  We 
spent  the  day  on  the  mountain  top,  from  which  we  looked 
out  on  parts  of  seven  States.  Mountains  and  famous  battle- 
fields, ridges  and  heights,  valleys,  plains,  rivers,  railroads  and 
the  abodes  of  men,  contribute  each  their  part  to  form  a  pic- 
ture we  shall  carry  with  us  while  memory  lasts.  'Twas  not 
one  of  such  awe-inspiring  sublimity  as  from  the  top  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  but  of  soul-stirring  beauty  and  scenery 
comparatively  so  near  that  one  can  take  it  in  and  quietly  en- 
joy it. 

At  the  Point  Hotel  we  took  the  train  and  traveled  round 
the  summit.  Our  company  stopped  off  and  we  wandered 
away  into  a  lonely  wild  recess,  where  silence  reigns  and  na- 
ture revels  as  she  pleases,  and  we  sat  alone  and  thought  and 
communed  with  Him  who  reared  these  lofty  heights.  We 
returned  by  the  zigzag  railway,  which  gave  us  great  variety  of 
scenery  and  more  time  to  feast  on  it  and  digest  it.  When 
the  government  builds  the  boulevard  along  the  side  of  Mis- 
sionary Ridge  and  on  through  Chickamauga  battle-field,  con- 
necting these  many  historic  grounds,  this  region  will  be  one 
of  more  than  ordinary  interest  tc  thoughtful  visitors. 


—  8i  — 

Chattanooga  has  grown  so  that  we  could  not  recognize 
anything  in  the  city  we  had  seen  nine  years  previous.  In 
this  place  we  have  an  illustration  of  what  is  meant  by  "the 
New  South."  It  is  an  enterprising,  wide-awake,  go-ahead 
city.  During  the  troubles  with  the  miners  loyalty  to  order 
was  conspicuous.  The  citizens  at  once  offered  their  services 
to  maintain  the  law.  There  seems  to  be  less  of  the  spirit  of 
anarchy  in  the  South  than  in  many  parts  of  the  North.  I 
found  business  firms  constituted  of  men  from  the  North  and 
South  working  harmoniously  together.  Half  the  extensive 
business  men  here,  I  was  told,  were  from  the  North.  The 
editor  of  the  leading  "morning  paper"  is  a  Northern  man 
and  was  a  Union  soldier.  Large  numbers  of  Union  soldiers 
were  born  and  brought  up  here. 

Two  good  drug-stores  here  are  owned  and  managed  by 
colored  men.  The  colored  people  have  a  savings  bank  office- 
red by  themselves,  and  run  successfully.  They  also  have  two 
or  three  church  buildings  nearly  as  fine  as  any  in  the  city, 
and  ten  or  twelve  colored  physicians,  three  or  four  of  whom 
are  educated  men.  They  propose  building  an  Opera  House  for 
themselves.  They  have  three  or  four  large  brick  school  build- 
ings.^ Hacks  are  owned  and  driven  by  colored  men.  They 
have  a  weekly  newspaper  of  their^own.  They  own  a  large 
number  of  residences  and  have  houses  to  rent.  They  refuse 
to  sell  their  property,  and  quite  a  number  of  their  cottages  are 
located  on  one  of  the  best  streets,  A  colored  man  owns  and 


—    82    — 

manages  a  coal  business.  Fully  one-third  of  the  population 
are  colored.  They  have  an  Orphan  Asylum  for  their  children. 
Gradually  they  separated  from  the  white  people  and  are  be- 
coming more  independent  and  self-sustaining.  A  colored  drug- 
store has  a  colored  physician,  who  sends  out  his  prescriptions 
for  colored  people  who  patronize  their  own  drug-store.  They 
hold  "  Fairs,"  managed  successfully  by  themselves.  So  they 
are  learning  to  depend  on  themselves,  and  trying  to  rise  by 
doing  for  themselves.  The  white  people  are  disposed  to  give 
them  a  chance  and  to  encourage  them.  The  Southerners  are 
greatly  pleased  at  the  progress  of  the  colored  race,  and  ready 
to  help  them.  The  colored  people  here  prefer  being  by  them- 
selves, and  do  not  wish  to  mingle  socially  with  white  people. 
In  education,  accumulation  of  property,  and  in  business 
capacity,  they  are  making  decided  progress.  Their  gravest 
defect,  I  wa ;  told,  was  in  the  line  of  chastity.  In  Chatta- 
nooga there  seems  to  be  no  race  quarrel ;  but  they  do  quarrel 
among  themselves.  They  greatly  need  the  gospel  in  its 
purity  and  simplicity  exemplified  in  daily  life  among  their 
own  people. 


-  83  - 


XVII. 

From  Chattanooga  it  is  a  pleasant  ride  to  Atlanta,  "The 
Gateway  to  the  South,"  as  it  is  called.  Ten  years  had  passed 
since  we  first  visited  Atlanta.  Its  transformation  in  those 
years  has  been  amazing  ;  there  was  scarcely  anything  we  re- 
cognized as  familiar.  It  impresses  one  as  a  beautiful  new 
city  full  of  vigor  and  enterprise,  and  exerts  an  influence  for 
good  on  all  the  South.  Beyond  Atlanta  we  soon  reach  Ma- 
con,  Ga.,  a  somewhat  typical  city  in  the  midst  of  an  extensive 
cotton-growing  district.  By  Way  Cross  we  rush  on  till  we 
cross  the  State  line  into  Florida,  which  at  our  entrance  does 
not  present  a  very  attractive  appearance. 

We  are  not  long  in  reaching  Jacksonville,  called  the  "  Gate 
City"  of  Florida.  In  former  years  tourists  seemed  to  think 
they  had  taken  in  the  State  if  they  visited  Jacksonville  and 
made  a  trip  up  the  St.  John's  River  by  steamer.  That  illus- 
ion has  long  since  faded  away.  The  glory  of  the  Peninsular 
State  is  in  its  being  in  great  part  a  peninsula.  It  lies  four 
hundred  miles  North  and  South  and  juts  out  far  into  the 
Southern  waters  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexi- 
co. There  is  no  other  peninsula  on  the  globe  as  extensive 
and  situated  as  it  is,  running  far  out  from  the  body  of  the 
continent,  cooled  by  the  breezes  that  constantly  play  across  it. 


-  84  - 

The  different  sections  of  the  State  are  quite  distinct  in 
their  characteristics.  First  comes  the  northern  division,  cal- 
led North  Florida,  devoted  chiefly  to  raising  grain,  grass  and 
stock,  and  the  cultivation  of  deciduous  fruit  trees,  as  pears, 
peaches,  plums,  figs,  also  grapes  and  berries.  This  section 
is  not  really  on  the  peninsula,  and  is  too  cold  for  the  success- 
ful cultivation  of  citrus  fruits  or  tender  plants  of  any  kind. 
Next  comes  Middle  Florida,  where  cotton  and  tobacco  are 
extensively  grown,  and  more  or  less  oranges.  It  is  some- 
times called  the  Black  Belt  because  so  many  colored  people 
live  there.  Beyond  this  is  South  Florida,  where  the  peninsula 
becomes  in  places  only  one  hundred  miles  wide,  and  is  called 
the  Orange  Belt,  the  natural  home  of  the  orange,  where  it  is 
found  in  its  native  state,  growing  and  fruiting  without  any 
care  or  cultivation.  Semi-tropical  plants  abound  in  this  sec- 
tion. It  is  this  part  of  the  State  that  has  been  settled  largely 
within  the  last  seventeen  years. 

Most  of  the  northern  people  that  have  located  in  Florida 
have  made  homes  for  themselves  in  this  southern  division  of 
the  State,  the  true  Peninsular  Florida.  The  currents  of  air 
that  flow  so  gently  across  this  narrow  strip  of  rolling  land 
from  the  encircling  Gulf  stream  bring  balmy  invigoration  that 
is  peculiarly  delightful.  The  days  are  never  suffocating,  and 
the  nights  are  charming.  The  breezes  from  the  ocean  im- 
part a  mild  tonic  that  is  exhilarating.  The  pine  forests  add 
to  the  healthfulness,  and  the  sandy  soil  at  once  takes  up  the 


-  85  - 

heavy  rainfall,  so  that  stagnant  water  in  the  rolling  high 
pine  lands  of  the  interior  is  rarely  if  ever  seen.  The  chief 
production  of  this  portion  of  the  State  is  the  orange,  where 
it  grows  in  fine  luxuriance  and  comes  to  a  condition  of  per- 
fection perhaps  not  attained  in  other  lands.  Vegetables  are 
grown  in  immense  quantities  for  the  early  northern  markets. 
Many  thousands  of  acres  of  orange  groves,  set  out  some  years 
ago,  are  now  coming  into  bearing,  and  good  living  prices  are 
given  for  the  golden  fruit.  As  a  consequence  a  feeling  of 
encouragement  and  assurance  is  possessing  the  people,  and 
many  coming  in  from  other  parts  of  the  country  see  how  pro- 
mising the  prospects  are,  and  are  securing  homes  in  this  part 
of  the  State. 

The  churches  are  making  progress  here  as  never  before. 
Good,  neat,  tasteful  church  buildings  are  going  up,  and  man- 
ses, too,  are  being  secured  by  the  churches  Schools  of  a 
better  grade  are  being  established. 

The  Presbytery  of  South  Florida  extends  from  the  Ocean 
to  the  Gulf,  and  embraces  all  the  south  end  of  the  peninsula. 
Last  fall  we  met  on  Indian  River,  on  the  Atlantic  coast. 
Our  spring  meeting  has  just  been  held  at  Crystal  River,  a  few 
miles  from  the  Gulf.  These  churches,  planted  and  cared  for 
now,  will,  we  trust,  in  a  few  years,  like  the  orange  groves 
properly  cared  for,  become  self-sustaining  and  fountains  of 
blessing  in  this  fair,  sunny  land  on  which  heaven  has  so  richly 
showered  its  benedictions. 


—  86  — 

The  south  end  of  South  Florida  is  a  tropical  land  where 
the  cocoanut,  the  pineapple  and  numerous  other  fruits  grow 
in  luxuriance  south  of  the  line  of  injurious  frosts,  in  a  land 
of  perpetual  summer.  That  region  is  now  attracting  many 
immigrants  from  northern  regions  of  our  vast  country. 

The  rainy  season  in  Florida  comes  in  midsummer,  and 
has  much  to  do  in  modifying  the  heat.  These  brisk  showers, 
coming  daily  for  a  time,  cool  off  the  atmosphere  and  impart 
a  freshness  that  is  most  charming.  This,  taken  with  the  fact 
that  the  sun  rises  later  and  sets  earlier  here  than  it  does  in 
the  North,  giving  the  land  and  water  longer  time  to  cool  off 
and  less  time  to  warm  up,  has  a  decidedly  modifying  effect 
on  the  climate.  The  length  of  the  summers  produces  a 
growth  in  vegetation  that  is  wonderful  to  observe.  Hence 
groves  make  amazingly  rapid  progress  when  well  cared  for. 
The  dryness  of  the  winters  renders  this  climate  specially  good 
for  invalids,  and  many  come  from  the  North. 

The  lake  regions  in  the  interior  constitute  an  interesting 
feature.  These  lakes  are  fed  from  springs,  invisible,  sup- 
plying waters  from  beneath,  clear,  pure,  soft,  good  for  drink- 
ing purposes  if  need  be.  The  large  majority  of  these  1  ikes 
have  no  connection  with  each  other  excepting  the  larger 
lakes.  Many  of  the  lakes  are  on  the  ridge  running  north 
and  south  through  the  central  portion  of  the  State,  which  fur- 
nishes the  highest  land  in  the  State.  Much  of  that  land  is 
high  pine,  sandy,  rolling,  with  nothing  to  create  disease. 


-  87  - 

Statistics  prove  it  to  be  certainly  one  of  the  most  healthful 
regions  in  all  the  United  States.  So  low  indeed  was  the 
death-rate  that  the  Superintendent  of  the  last  census  refused 
to  accept  the  returns  till  they  were  verified  by  a  number  of 
witnesses  whose  testimony  could  not  be  doubted.  These 
lakes,  where  they  lie  near  each  other,  furnish  protection  from 
frost  in  time  of  a  cold  snap.  Hence  the  southeast  side  of 
such  bodies  of  water  is  considered  a  choice  locality. 

From  Jacksonville  we  had  a  ride  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty-two  miles  south  to  Eustis,  where  we  received  such  a 
welcome  as  made  us  glad  we  were  at  home  again.  With 
church,  academy,  public  schools  and  friends,  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  health,  and  plenty  to  do  in  the  service  of  the  good 
Lord,  we  surely  are  satisfied  with  the  kind  providence  of  our 
God  about  us. 

Now  we  have  gone  across  the  continent  and  have  come 
back  by  a  different  route.  The  picture  of  the  many  scenes  of 
beauty  on  the  way  and  of  rare  objects  of  interest,  and  the 
cordial  greetings  we  received,  stands  out  vividly  before  us 
and  is  a  constant  source  of  joy.  If  our  readers  have  enjoyed 
the  reading  as  we  have  the  writing  of  these  "Notes  by  the 
Way,"  I  am  satisfied. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

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